Will Smith And Jada Pinkett Partner With Mo Abudu’s EbonyLife For TV, Film Productions

Westbrook Studios, production company of Hollywood stars, Jada Pinkett-Smith and Will Smith, has partnered with EbonyLife, a Nigerian movie making firm owned by Mo Abudu, to create film and television projects connected to Africa.

The deal is the first of its kind for Westbrook in Africa and the companies under this partnership will produce two series and one film.

‘Dada Safaris’, one of the series lined up, follows four bestfriends who follow a leap of faith after finding themselves at career dead ends. ‘The Gods’, on the other hand, follows the tale of married Cambridge professors who set out to find the cause of a surge in natural disasters but discover ancient African gods.

‘Are We Getting Married?’, a romantic comedy set in the US, tells the story of a girl from a wealthy Nigerian family who falls in love with a nerdy African-American.

Read also: FK Abudu, Davido, Feminist Coalition And Olugbenga Agboola Make 2021 TIME 100 Next List

Eli Shibley, Westbrook Studios SVP, head of international TV & film, said;

The creative energy and world-class artistry coming out of Africa is absolutely undeniable. We’re thrilled to be working with a best-in-class producer like Mo and her EbonyLife to tell stories that uniquely celebrate African characters and perspectives and resonate with fans of great film and television around the world.

EbonyLife boss Mo Abudu also called the partnership a “dream come true.” She expressed;

We all dream of lofty goals becoming a reality, then one day those dreams come true, I’m proud to announce that our vision of EbonyLife Studios being in partnership with Will and Jada’s Westbrook Studios is now real.

Westbrook’s goal is to create and curate powerful and inclusive content. This is completely in line with our vision at EbonyLife – to tell global African stories from our perspective. Together, we will be developing a slate of projects that reflect our shared goals. We are beyond excited!

Abudu’s partnership with Westbrook Studios came through two weeks after she snagged a first-look deal with Sony Pictures Television (SPT), a US entertainment firm, to develop scripted African TV series targeted at a global audience.

It also comes eight months after signing a major deal to produce and film two new Nigerian originals plus licensed films and a series for Netflix. The projects are movie adaptation of books by Wole Soyinka, a Nigerian playwright, and Lola Shoneyin, an indigenous novelist.