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Star Wars star John Boyega is focused on promoting more African content through his new development deal with Netflix.
Last month, following the debut of its first African film Queen Sono, Netflix signed with Boyega’s U.K.-based UpperRoom Productions to produce more African-focused films.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, UpperRoom Productions focuses on non-English-language films from West Africa, which reflects Boyega’s Nigerian heritage, and East Africa, reflecting the Sudanese heritage of UpperRoom VP Yara Shaikh.
“I am thrilled to partner with Netflix to develop a slate of non-English-language feature films focused on African stories and my team and I are excited to develop original material,” Boyega said in a statement, according to the Hollywood Reporter. “We are proud to grow this arm of our business with a company that shares our vision.”
Boyega founded the production company in 2016 to help with his role as a producer on 2018’s Pacific: Uprising, which he also starred in. Since then, UpperRoom has had a number of projects in development, including some unscripted content.
Netflix’s VP of international film David Kosse said in a statement, “Africa has a rich history in storytelling and for Netflix, this partnership with John and UpperRoom presents an opportunity to further our investment in the continent while bringing unique African stories to our members both in Africa and around the world.”
Netflix is scheduled to premiere an original scripted series from Nigeria later this year.
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