Four African screenwriters will be pitching their original TV projects to industry guests on Tuesday at the 17th Series Mania in Lille, France.
The quartet are the latest participants in the Realness Institute’s AuthenticA Series Lab, an episodic screenwriting program run in partnership with The StoryBoard Collective, and with support from the Canada Media Fund and the Series Mania Forum.
Taking the stage at the AuthenticA African Series Pitch on March 24 will be Reem Morsi (Egypt/Canada), pitching the dark comedy “Humanitarians!”; Gamel Apalayine (Ghana), with the mystery-drama series “The Gospel According to Charlotte Nelson”; Mona Ombogo (Kenya), who will pitch the romantic thriller series “Kanaan”; and Joladé Olusanya (Nigeria/U.K.), who will present the sports epic “Kid: The Hogan Bassey Story.”
Now in its fourth edition, the AuthenticA Series Lab supports and mentors African writers to develop globally competitive television series enabling them to pitch and connect with international partners, financiers and producers. The pitching session in Lille follows six months of intensive development for the four screenwriters, who benefited from hands-on mentorship and support.
“Providing African writers a safe space to develop the stories they want to tell, with the resources they need to tell them, is still a rare intervention,” said creative producer Mehret Mandefro, managing director of the Realness Institute. “These four writers are proof of what becomes possible when that space actually exists.”
“Each year the AuthenticA writers are encouraged to tell the stories they have kept quietly hidden — the audacious, difficult, complex ones,” added Selina Ukwuoma, a script consultant and director of writing programs at the institute. “With the support the lab provides, the writers consistently push the boundaries. They find a way to tell these groundbreaking stories, and in so doing, they redefine the narrative about Africa.”
Morsi is an award-winning writer, director and multi-genre filmmaker with a background in professional scuba diving and human rights advocacy. Her feature “Banned” has just begun its festival tour, and she has directed the film “Queen Tut” and episodes of the CBC Gem series “Virgins!”. Her series “Fish” won the Canadian National Genre Competition by WIFTV and is currently in development, along with two other scripted projects.
Apalayine is a storyteller working across film, television, theater and music. He was head writer for 560 episodes of Ghana’s hit series “Dede” and two seasons of the Showmax original drama series “Eno.” He is developing a slate of film, TV and theater projects through his creative company, Whistling Rocks.
Ombogo is an award-winning scriptwriter and bestselling author whose credits include the Netflix original musical drama series “Volume,” for which she received the 2024 Women in Film Award for best scriptwriter and the best writing in a series award at the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards. She has served as head writer for M-Net’s “Salem and Shanga” and contributed to Showmax’s “Single Kiasi.”
Olusanya is a poet, filmmaker and photographer who tells intimate stories blending lyrical writing with cinematic visuals. He has been commissioned by the BBC and Barbican and exhibited his work internationally. Through his company, By the Kin, he is developing short films and an original TV series while building community-led projects.
“At Series Mania Forum, we’re excited to showcase these four extraordinary talents from Africa on a global stage, where their rich and diverse stories can captivate the international industry,” said Francesco Capurro, director of the Series Mania Forum. “We’re proud to champion their voices and look forward to the impact they will make worldwide.”
Laure de Peretti de la Rocca, executive director of The StoryBoard Collective, added: “The AuthenticA Series Lab is not only a long-term creative development program, but also provides writers with the market literacy and industry access needed to protect their voices. We support storytellers whose perspectives deserve far greater visibility on screen and create pathways to international partners ready to bring those stories to life.”
Pictured (L. to R.): Mona Ombogo, Gamel Apalayine, Joladé Olusanya, Reem Morsi
Leave a Reply