Idris Elba announces “African Odeon” cinema chain at SXSW London

Idris Elba is pioneering a transformative vision for Africa‘s entertainment infrastructure, moving beyond his acting career to address critical gaps in the continent’s cinema ecosystem. At SXSW London, he unveiled plans to establish an “African Odeon” cinema chain, noting that fewer than 3,000 theaters currently serve the entire continent. This ambitious initiative represents part of his broader strategy to empower African creators through improved infrastructure, innovative financial solutions, and technology that addresses industry-specific challenges.

The big picture: Elba aims to build a comprehensive entertainment ecosystem supporting African creators from production through distribution, addressing the continent’s severe theatrical exhibition shortage.

• The ‘Luther’ star highlighted that fewer than 3,000 cinemas currently exist across Africa, creating a massive underserved market for theatrical experiences.
• “I believe that the cinema experience that we all have gone through should be experienced by a new generation,” Elba emphasized during his SXSW London panel.

Key innovation: The Akuna Wallet forms the financial backbone of Elba’s African entertainment vision, offering a blockchain-based solution to persistent cross-border payment challenges.

• Named after Elba’s middle name, the platform specifically targets Africa’s creative industries and their unique financial obstacles.
• “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.

Addressing industry accessibility: Elba also showcased Talking Scripts, an AI-powered application he developed with director Stefan Schwartz to help dyslexic film professionals overcome script-reading challenges.

• Both Elba and Schwartz are dyslexic and created the app to transform traditional script reading into an audio experience with AI-voiced characters.
• The tool helps with script comprehension and character development by creating a more accessible format for professionals with reading difficulties.

Philosophical foundation: Elba’s ventures reflect his core philosophy of “creativity as capital for change,” emphasizing creative 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.

Looking ahead: Elba believes artificial intelligence will be a transformative force for African cinema in coming years.

• “I’ve been saying for two years that artificial intelligence will leapfrog the creative sector,” he predicted, envisioning hybrid production models combining traditional filmmaking with AI tools.