Idris Elba Plans African Cinema Chain, Unveils Creator Tech

Idris Elba is thinking big about Africa’s entertainment infrastructure. At SXSW London, the actor-entrepreneur revealed his ambitious goal to establish a cinema chain across the continent, addressing what he calls a critical gap in theatrical exhibition.

“I’d love to build the African Odeon,” Elba declared during a panel discussion. He noted that the entire African continent has fewer than 3,000 cinemas, creating a massive underserved market. “I believe that the cinema experience that we all have gone through should be experienced by a new generation.”

The ‘Luther’ star’s vision extends beyond just building theaters. He wants to create a comprehensive ecosystem that supports African creators from production through distribution, leveraging data to prove market viability to global partners.

Central to Elba’s strategy is the Akuna Wallet, a blockchain-based financial platform designed specifically for Africa’s creative industries. Named after Elba’s middle name, Akuna represents the Africa-facing side of his business operations.

“We’re trying to understand how we can build that data set that allows companies and conglomerates to look at Africa and see that this does work,” Elba explained. The wallet aims to solve cross-border payment challenges that have long plagued African creators.

DJ and producer Vyrusky, an early adopter of the platform, described the real-world impact: “When it comes to music marketing, there’s a problem. You have the executive producer in London trying to send money to start a promotion in Ghana. You need someone in Ghana who has that amount sitting in accounts, and before you start, you’re maybe a week or two weeks behind.”

Kwadwo Owusu-Agyeman, managing director of the Akuna venture, emphasized the platform’s broader implications: “We’re tackling those issues for creatives in Africa right now, but essentially, the scaffolding of all of our creative industries require a lot of the same stuff – rights sharing and distribution.”

The wallet is currently being tested in a regulatory sandbox environment in Ghana, with support from the country’s central bank.

Elba also showcased Talking Scripts, an AI-powered app he developed with director Stefan Schwartz to address challenges faced by dyslexic professionals in the film industry. Both Elba and Schwartz are dyslexic and found traditional script reading processes difficult and time-consuming.

“I find reading these scripts very difficult, actually absorbing the words,” Elba admitted. “Dyslexia grew over time and became a bit of a hindrance when you’re reading a lot of different scripts at the same time.”

The app allows users to cast different AI voices to characters, creating an audio experience that helps with script comprehension and character development. Manon Dave, chief technology officer, explained that the platform leverages consumer-friendly UX design principles similar to music streaming apps.

“We took a lot of that kind of behavior that people were becoming accustomed to in consumer apps and applied that UX approach,” Dave said.

Schwartz noted that the tool addresses broader accessibility needs: “Anyone with neurodiversity, ADHD, or English as a second language have that same fear of getting into material.”

The Talking Scripts app is already being used on major productions. Schwartz revealed it was utilized during production of “The Boys,” with crew members using it to absorb script revisions while traveling between sets.

Both ventures reflect Elba’s philosophy of “creativity as capital for change,” the title of the SXSW London session. He emphasized the importance of helping young creators recognize their imaginative potential as economic value.

“Trying to get young people to understand that their capital, their wealth, their fortune, is within themselves, within that creative tool set,” Elba said. “Young people don’t realize how expansive their imaginations are, how valuable their imaginations are when they share ideas and create stuff.”

Looking ahead, Elba sees artificial intelligence as a transformative force for African cinema. “I’ve been saying for two years that artificial intelligence will leapfrog the creative sector,” he said, envisioning hybrid production models that combine traditional filmmaking with AI tools.