Idris Elba is planning to move to Africa within the next “five to 10 years.”
The “Luther” star was born in London, but his mother, Eve, is from Ghana, and his father, Winston, is from Sierra Leone. Elba is proud of his heritage, revealing he is now preparing to leave the U.K. behind to start working on his plan to open film studios in Zanzibar and Ghana.
“I would certainly consider settling down here [in Africa]; not even consider, it’s going to happen. I think [I’ll move] in the next five, 10 years, God willing. I’m here to bolster the film industry — that is a 10-year process —I won’t be able to do that from overseas. I need to be in-country, on the continent,” Elba told the BBC.
Elba went on to reveal he wants to split his time between Accra in Ghana and Sierra Leone’s capital city of Freetown as well as the island of Zanzibar.
“I’m going to live in Accra; I’m going to live in Freetown; I’m going to live in Zanzibar. I’m going to try and go where they’re telling stories. That’s really important,” he added.
“If you watch any film or anything that has got to do with Africa, all you’re going to see is trauma, how we were slaves, how we were colonized, how it’s just war, and when you come to Africa, you will realize that it’s not true,” Elba stated, insisting he wants to help change the way Africa is seen onscreen. “So, it’s really important that we own those stories of our tradition, of our culture, of our languages, of the differences between one language and another. The world doesn’t know that …”
“We have to invest in our story-telling because when you see me,” Elba said, “you see a little version of yourself — and that encourages us.”
