Legendary British actor Idris Elba has called on African filmmakers to focus on producing high-quality content.

The second edition of the Africa Cinema Summit (ACS) kicked off on Monday, October 7, 2024, at the Movenpick Ambassador Hotel in Accra.

Organized by Ghana’s National Film Authority (NFA), day 1 of the summit was headlined by the legendary British actor and Chairman of IE7&The Akuna Group, Idris Elba.

Speaking to Channel One TV at the summit, Idris Elba stressed the need for African filmmakers to invest in quality production values, noting that advancements in technology have made it easier to create professional-grade films.

By prioritizing quality, the legendary actor known for his roles in films like “Luther” and “The Beast of No Nation,” argued that African cinema can compete on the global stage.

“We have to think about appeasing our local market, local, I don’t just mean Ghana, but I mean Nigeria, West Africa, South Africa.. because people love movies all over Africa… So in as much as we want to appeal to the international market…we have to do it at home first…When you get an American movie hit, usually it’s a domesticated hit before it is a hit outside…So is it really important that we don’t focus on International but we focus on home”.He said

“We have to focus on quality, We can’t make films that do not keep to the standard of the rest of the world, there is no excuse for that .. democratisation of equipment means we can all shoot on a nice camera, we can all shoot with good mics,… So we have to pay attention to quality”. He added

The second edition of the Africa Cinema Summit which is aimed at fostering collaboration, innovation, and sustainable growth within the African cinema industry will end on Thursday, October 10.