THINGS FALL APART: Why I Should Be Encouraged to Tell African Stories - Idris Elba

Since it was announced a couple of weeks ago that English actor Idris Elba will be playing the role of Okonkwo in an upcoming movie version of the popular Things Fall Apart, reactions to the news have been very mixed. A lot of people, especially Nigerians, believe that there are more than enough capable Nigerian actors to take on that role. But some other people are also fine with the news saying that having Idris Elba on it will open the story to more audiences. Now, in an interview with 3MusicTV, Idris Elba is opening up about why he has this particular interest in telling African stories, and here's what he had to say.

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Speaking about why he's interested in telling African stories and why he needs encouragement, Idris Elba said:

IDRIS ELBA: I think there is an appetite for seeing cinema grow generally around the world. Filmmakers are not necessarily going 'oh I'm British so I have to make films in Britain.' Filmmakers make films all over the world. I think it's a conversation that needs encouragement and understanding. Because for a long time, one could say Africa hasn't had the particulars to build a film industry in the way we've seen around the world. But that's changing everyday and we're seeing more and more films being made here. So you look at South Africa, you look at Morocco, you look at other parts, even in Senegal where there is a steady flow of filmmaking. I think the international filmmaking community are certainly looking at what the growth potential is. My dialogue around West Africa, around Ghana, around Sierra Leone, around Tanzania, my office is definitely buzzing with excitement with 'how is this happening? when is this happening?'

Uniquely familiar is a phrase I like to use. It doesn't matter if it's a story from your village or my village, if somebody in Denmark can find the story uniquely familiar, it's going to have an opportunity to go there. So we see in the Korean filmmaking industry, its very unique stories to their culture, but they're familiar to the world and thus, those films travel. There is a very similar presence for our films and our stories. And what's so interesting is because our history in Africa has been buried so deep, these stories feel brand new. Some stories that may have come down in our schools and our cultures have not reached an international market yet. So it allows us to tell really original stories, and we just have to find ways to be innovative in re-telling those stories, transposing them into a modern technique, modern styles, but really dig deep into our culture.

What do you think about Idris Elba had to say, and about the fact that he will be the one playing Okonkwo in the new Things Fall Apart movie? Let me know your thoughts by leaving a comment either below or on my Jide Okonjo Facebook post.

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