JOHANNESBURG: African filmmakers and digital creators are being offered an opportunity to turn their ideas into professionally produced films through a free, year-long training and production programme backed by British actor Idris Elba and technology giant Google.
The initiative, called From Script to Screen with AI, aims to equip emerging storytellers with artificial intelligence filmmaking skills while providing selected participants with funding and technical support to bring their projects to life.
Applications opened on Monday for creators in South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and Sierra Leone, with the closing date set for 15 November 2026.
The programme is being delivered through Akuna Learning, the education division of the pan-African creative economy company Akuna Group, which is chaired by Elba.
It is supported by Google and backed by US$1 million, approximately R17.5 million, in funding from Google’s philanthropic arm, Google.org.
Unlike conventional training initiatives that end with certificates, the 50-week programme is designed to take participants from learning the fundamentals of AI-assisted filmmaking to developing, pitching and potentially producing their own films.
Successful projects will receive production funding, with completed films scheduled for showcases in October 2027.
Importantly, the organisers say participating creators will retain ownership and creative control of their work.
Elba wants African creators to tell their own stories
For Elba, the programme represents an opportunity to remove some of the barriers preventing talented African storytellers from entering the global film industry.
The award-winning actor, who has long advocated greater investment in Africa’s creative economy, said the initiative was primarily about making education and professional opportunities more accessible.
“For me, this is about learning. This is about access to courses that help educate creators across the continent to tell their stories,” Elba said.
He emphasised that the programme would go beyond teaching participants how to use emerging technology.
“Selected projects will receive production funding, and creators will retain control of their work. I’m looking forward to seeing the stories they choose, and how the education leads to employment and self-momentum, but helps shape the narrative of Africa.”
His remarks reflect a broader ambition to strengthen Africa’s capacity to produce, distribute and benefit economically from its own creative content.
While the continent has produced internationally recognised actors, filmmakers and musicians, many emerging creators continue to face challenges accessing professional training, production finance, technology and distribution networks.
The Akuna initiative seeks to address some of those barriers by combining practical education with mentorship and a route to funded production.
From training to a finished film
The programme will run for approximately 50 weeks, taking participants through five stages between October 2026 and October 2027.
The first stage involves applications and selection, with candidates assessed through country-level review panels before a final selection process covering all five participating nations.
Those selected will begin a 12-week online academy in February 2027, continuing until April.
The training will combine structured online learning, weekly facilitation by Akuna and in-person networking sessions in each country.
Participants who complete the academy will receive certification before being given an opportunity to advance to the next phase.
Between April and June, graduates will be invited to submit one-page film concepts.
Shortlisted applicants will then form production teams and participate in four weeks of mentoring with industry professionals and subject specialists.
The strongest projects will advance to a pitching stage between June and July, where teams will present their ideas to panels involving representatives from Akuna, Google and the wider film industry.
Successful pitches will receive production funding.
From July to October 2027, selected teams will develop and produce their films with creative and technical support, before presenting the completed work at festivals and industry showcases.
Participants will also be able to specialise in one of five creative disciplines: fiction filmmaking, documentary production, animation, advertising or screenwriting.
Akuna Group chief executive Khaled Gad said the programme was deliberately structured to address a persistent weakness in creative industry development: training people without creating opportunities for them to apply their skills professionally.
“Training on its own does not build an industry. Creators need a route from the classroom to the screen, and this programme carries them all the way, from their first application to a finished, funded film,” Gad said.
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Who qualifies and how to apply
The initiative is open to aspiring and emerging visual storytellers from all five participating countries.
Eligible applicants include filmmakers, screenwriters, animators, photographers, designers, editors, advertising creatives, digital content producers and visual artists.
No previous experience with artificial intelligence is required.
Applicants also do not need formal film-school qualifications or a specified number of years working in the industry.
However, they must demonstrate creative ability by submitting examples of work they have already completed.
“You need finished work that shows what you can do, and your application in by 15 November,” Gad said.
Applicants must be at least 18 years old and reside in South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria or Sierra Leone.
They must also have access to a laptop, reliable internet connectivity and a consistent electricity supply throughout the programme.
Participants will need to commit to the full 12-week academy between February and April 2027 and remain available for subsequent stages if their projects are selected.
The organisers have particularly encouraged women to apply, reflecting the need to expand opportunities for female creators in an industry where access to financing and production resources remains uneven.
Although participation is free, the technical requirements could present challenges for aspiring filmmakers in communities where reliable electricity, internet connectivity and suitable computer equipment remain difficult to access.
These barriers highlight the broader digital divide that African creative industries must overcome if emerging technologies are to benefit creators beyond established urban centres.
Global AI filmmaking expertise behind the training
The programme’s curriculum has been developed by Curious Refuge, a United States-based online training institution specialising in artificial intelligence filmmaking.
Founded in 2020 by Caleb and Shelby Ward, Curious Refuge launched its AI filmmaking academy in 2023 and has since developed an international audience.
According to Reuters, the institution has trained approximately 10,000 students across 170 countries, with many of its current learners already working in entertainment, advertising and related creative industries.
Its involvement is expected to provide participants with practical exposure to AI-assisted production techniques, including visual development, storytelling, animation and other emerging filmmaking workflows.
The partnership also reflects the growing influence of artificial intelligence in an industry traditionally associated with expensive cameras, specialist production equipment, large crews and substantial post-production budgets.
For independent African filmmakers, AI tools could potentially reduce some of those costs, particularly during concept development, visualisation and post-production.
However, the technology also raises questions about copyright, creative ownership and the long-term impact of automation on film industry employment.
Part of Elba’s wider vision for African cinema
The new programme builds on an earlier commitment announced by Elba and Google in July, following Google’s AI summit in Johannesburg.
That initiative involved US$1 million in support aimed at expanding access to Gemini, Google’s artificial intelligence assistant, and other digital tools for creators in the same five African countries.
The latest programme places greater emphasis on practical filmmaking education and the development of completed projects.
It also forms part of Elba’s broader efforts to strengthen the infrastructure supporting Africa’s entertainment industry.
The British actor, whose father was from Sierra Leone and who acquired Sierra Leonean citizenship in 2019, has repeatedly spoken about the continent’s potential to become a major centre for film production.
He has outlined ambitions to develop film studios and expand cinema infrastructure, including a proposed cinema network he has described as an “African Odeon”.
His vision extends beyond attracting international productions to Africa.
It includes developing the facilities, skills and investment needed for African filmmakers to produce their own stories and reach audiences across the continent and internationally.
Elba has also expressed optimism about the opportunities artificial intelligence could create for emerging economies.
Speaking to Semafor last year, he described AI as offering “opportunities for underdeveloped communities to catch up with the rest of the world”.
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He compared the arrival of AI tools to the introduction of synthesisers in music production.
“It didn’t stop drummers becoming drummers. It’s just a different tool set,” he said.
His argument is that technology can expand creative possibilities rather than necessarily replace the people responsible for producing artistic work.
AI brings opportunity, but also difficult questions
The growing use of artificial intelligence in filmmaking remains controversial.
AI-related concerns were central to the Hollywood writers’ and actors’ strikes in 2023, with industry professionals raising questions about the use of their work, likenesses and performances in automated production systems.
Similar debates are emerging across Africa as filmmakers explore the possibilities of AI-generated visuals, digital characters and automated editing tools.
Supporters believe the technology could make filmmaking more accessible by reducing production costs and allowing independent creators to compete with better-funded studios.
In Nigeria, the Naija Artificial Intelligence Film Festival, launched in 2025, attracted hundreds of submissions from multiple countries, demonstrating growing interest in AI-assisted storytelling.
However, critics warn that Africa risks becoming a consumer of technology developed elsewhere without gaining meaningful control over the systems that shape how its stories are produced and distributed.
Kenyan creative sector analyst Kenim Oba described AI as “the beginning of a new production model” during an interview with The Star in May.
She also cautioned that African artistic styles, cultural expressions and storytelling traditions could increasingly be absorbed into global AI systems that are not owned or controlled by Africans.
“The fight is to own the systems through which we are seen,” she said.
That concern makes Akuna’s commitment to creator ownership particularly significant.
The organisers say neither the programme nor its partners will claim ownership of participants’ completed work.
However, questions remain about how creative material used with third-party AI platforms will be protected, particularly where those services have their own data-use, licensing and intellectual property terms.
For emerging filmmakers, understanding these issues will be as important as mastering the technology itself.
Africa’s creative economy has enormous untapped potential
The economic significance of the initiative extends beyond the filmmakers who will eventually participate.
Africa’s film and audiovisual industry already supports millions of livelihoods, but its potential remains constrained by limited investment, inadequate infrastructure and uneven access to professional development opportunities.
A 2021 UNESCO study estimated that the continent’s film and audiovisual sector supported approximately five million jobs and generated around US$5 billion annually.
The organisation suggested that, with stronger investment and more effective industry development, the sector could eventually support more than 20 million jobs and generate US$20 billion a year.
Those projections illustrate the scale of the opportunity facing African governments, investors and creative businesses.
Film production also generates economic activity beyond the screen, supporting employment in tourism, hospitality, transport, fashion, music, technical services and digital technology.
For young Africans seeking employment in a rapidly changing economy, the expansion of creative industries could provide opportunities that traditional sectors have struggled to generate at sufficient scale.
The challenge is ensuring that training programmes lead to sustainable careers, viable businesses and greater African ownership of creative intellectual property.
That is the standard against which initiatives such as From Script to Screen with AI will ultimately be measured.
For Elba and Akuna, the immediate objective is to give aspiring filmmakers the skills, support and resources to move from an idea to a completed production.
For the creators selected, it could be an opportunity to enter an industry that has often remained financially and technically out of reach.
And for African cinema, the initiative raises a larger possibility: that emerging technology, combined with meaningful investment in local talent, could help more Africans tell their own stories and retain ownership of the work they create.
Applications for From Script to Screen with AI close on 15 November 2026. Interested creators can apply through AkunaLearning.com.
