Author: Tambay A. Obenson

Adrien James Prince de Capistran, affectionately known as “Uncle Didine,” was a pioneering Gabonese actor who passed away on January 5, 2025, leaving behind a legacy of storytelling. Establishing his screen career in the early 1980s, Prince de Capistran became a defining figure in Gabonese cinema and television, contributing to films and iconic television series […]

In a year that saw Idris Elba secure land allocation for a film studio in Zanzibar, announce plans for a “smart city” in Sierra Leone, and Kenya’s $284 million agreement with South Korea for a Digital Media City, joining other ambitious infrastructural projects like Rwanda’s Kigali Innovation City, Ghana’s Hope City, and Egypt’s Knowledge City, […]

For January 2025, access thoughtful and comprehensive insights into African film, TV, and digital ecosystems—trusted by media professionals worldwide: filmmakers, producers, distributors, programmers, curators, festival directors, scholars, financiers, and more. Join a global subscriber base spanning North & South America, Europe, Africa, and Australia. You will receive a daily email newsletter that may include: – […]

Many who have worked within African screen industries across Africa have long recognized the challenges of building sustainable sectors, even as 2024 seemed to bring these realities to wider attention. Certainly, subscribers to my platform, Akoroko Premium, would already be familiar. The sobering truth is that what exists is a vastly uneven, fragmented landscape spread […]

Excerpts from the 1994 documentary “Sembène: The Making of African Cinema,” directed by Manthia Diawara and Ngugi Wa Thiong’o. It captures a 1993 conversation between Senegalese African cinema pioneer Ousmane Sembène and African American filmmaker John Singleton—on the heels of his critically acclaimed feature film debut “Boyz n the Hood” (1991). The meeting of minds […]

I’ve been reflecting on the obsession with “firsts.” It’s a concept embedded in global culture. “The first person to do this,” “the first organization to achieve that,” etc. Now imagine how many African “firsts” still lie ahead for African film and television, both at local and international levels, especially with global interest at seemingly unprecedented […]

Newly disclosed figures detail Netflix’s $220 million investment in key African markets (South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya) between 2021 and 2024—double the average annual spending from 2016 to 2022, with South Africa the primary beneficiary. Meanwhile, Netflix execs Larry Tanz (VP of Content for EMEA) and Ben Amadasun (VP of Content for the Middle East and […]

As 2024 draws to a close, the international film festival circuit provides a distinct lens through which one can examine the stories shaping global perceptions of Africa and her cinema. Films screened this year inform us of how African stories are being developed, financed, and presented to audiences around the world. To be sure, these […]

There’s an undeniable buzz around African creativity right now. This increased attention brings with it a surge of activity and a flood of announcements that promise to “reshape,” “revolutionize,” or “redefine” the landscape of African filmmaking. Each announcement claims to be more “groundbreaking” than the last; each promises to be the key that will unlock […]

This is part of an ongoing series of year-end analyses on Africa’s uneven film and television environments, exclusively available to Akoroko Premium subscribers. In this installment, I explore how traditional definitions of a “film industry” are being reshaped across the continent. From MultiChoice’s sobering financial report describing “the most challenging operating conditions in almost 40 […]