The Story⚡
Former U.S. diplomat Akunna Cook raised $50 million in 2024 to launch the Next Narrative Africa Fund with a clear mission: to fund emerging and upcoming African creators and storytellers the global industry had long overlooked.
Yet, when the inaugural slate was announced, every one of the nine selected projects was attached to talent that was already established, including Trevor Noah, Thuso Mbedu, André Holland, the Esiri brothers, Banky W, and others.
Tell Me More
Next Narrative Africa Fund is structured as a hybrid: $40 million in commercial equity investment paired with $10 million in grants through a nonprofit venture studio for script development and early incubation. Qualifying projects must have at least 50 percent of production take place on the African continent. Over 2,000 submissions arrived from 80 countries.
Akunna Cook explained that the projects rose to the top from over 2,000 submissions because they are commercially compelling, culturally resonant, and globally relevant. She noted that the slate is projected to generate more than $60 million in production activity across Africa, while the fund’s dual mandate targets returns for investors alongside building the infrastructure of the continent’s creative economy.
The selections, however, sit uneasily against the fund’s stated goal of backing emerging and upcoming creators. The open call was promoted precisely to give overlooked voices a chance, yet seven of the nine projects carry attachments with prior Netflix deals, major studio acquisitions, international festival wins, or Hollywood credits, the kind of profiles the industry was already backing. Only Bako and The Return lack comparable pre-existing momentum. The nine projects, chosen from the large pool of submissions, are:
Beyond Day Zero
This South African action film is produced by Trevor Noah through Day Zero Productions. Noah is an Emmy winner, former Daily Show host, Netflix stand-up veteran, and global brand. The screenplay is by Amy Jephta, based on an original story by Toby and Kevin Schmutzler. The wealthy daughter of a water tycoon joins forces with a township gangster to lead a rebellion against her father and tear down the wall dividing their worlds.
Innocent
This Nigerian mystery thriller is directed by Arie Esiri and co-written with his twin brother Chuko Esiri. The Esiri brothers earned festival acclaim with Eyimofe and had their feature Clarissa acquired by Neon for U.S. theatrical release before the slate announcement.
Skunk
This South African action drama is directed and co-written by Amanda Lane, starring and co-written by Thuso Mbedu. Mbedu is an international star known for The Underground Railroad on Amazon and her role opposite Viola Davis in The Woman King.
Untitled Political Thriller
This Sierra Leone/UK drama thriller is written and directed by Rapman, creator of Netflix’s Supacell, who also produces. Supacell was one of the streamer’s most-watched British originals of 2024.
United States of Africa
This Ghanaian action spy TV series is executive-produced by André Holland. Holland is a Hollywood veteran with credits in Moonlight, The Knick, and Castle Rock.
About Love & September Laws
This Sudanese drama is directed and co-written by Mohamed Kordofani of Goodbye Julia, with Khaled Alwaleed. Goodbye Julia won the top prize at the Carthage Film Festival and became Sudan’s first-ever Oscar submission.
Jollof Wars
This West African comedy fantasy musical is directed by Hamid Ibrahim and stars Banky W and Adesua Etomi, Nigeria’s most famous couple, with Ziki Nelson, who co-wrote Disney+’s Iwájú, also attached.
Bako
This Nigerian romance sci-fi is directed and co-written by Boma Iluma, who previously directed Comfort (2021) and is the least-credentialed name on the slate.
The Return
This Ghanaian comedy horror is written and directed by Zoey Martinson and produced by Kofi Owusu Afriyie. It is the least publicly documented project on the slate, with no marquee name attached.
This leaves a central tension: if the fund intended to support the next wave of African talent, why run a wide submission process only to choose names that were already on the other side of the door?
In Summary
The Next Narrative Africa Fund has deployed its first round of support across nine projects, with attached talent that includes Emmy winners, Netflix series creators, and internationally recognized actors. All selected work is required to film primarily on the continent, and the fund’s hybrid model of equity and grants is designed to sustain jobs and economic activity in African screen industries.
Yet with several of the chosen creators already carrying major studio deals, Hollywood credits, or global visibility, the inaugural slate prompts a lingering question: who, exactly, is the $50 million intended to reach?
What’s Next?
Shock Africa will be tracking all nine titles, from casting announcements and production updates through distribution deals, theatrical windows, and streaming routes, documenting how each project travels from development to screen, who picks them up, where they land, and critically, whether local African audiences will have meaningful access to them or whether these stories will once again be made on the continent, celebrated at Western festivals, and consumed everywhere else but home.
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