United Kingdom
Nigerian producer and media mogul Mo Abudu has realised what she has described as a “mad dream”.
She has opened a unique centre called “EbonyLife Place London” in the centre of the British capital, complete with a cinema dedicated to <a href="https://abs<a href="https://absafricatv.com/formula-one-announces-historic-return-to-africa/” title=”Formula One announces historic return to Africa”>africatv.com/what-african-startups-need-to-know/” title=”What African startups need to know”>African film and black culture.
Close to the Houses of Parliament, its massive concrete facade conceals the venue which opens to the public last weekend – the first of its kind in Britain and Europe.
While the name may mean little to many passers-by, film lovers will recognise the reference to EbonyLife, a leading African production company and a major player in Nollywood, Nigeria’s film industry.
Ranked by Forbes among the world’s 100 most influential women in 2025, Abudu’s media empire stretches far beyond Nigeria’s borders.
She said the idea of the centre had probably been buried in her subconsciousness for the longest time. Growing up in England, she said she could never go anywhere in her youth to watch a black film.
So, she decided to act.
“We have consumed so much of the world. How much of the world has consumed us,” she asked.
“It’s time to tell our own stories. I want to showcase the best of who we are, celebrate who we are. Let them see us at our very best.”
“I’m not waiting anymore for anyone to take a six-hour trip from London to understand what it is to watch a Nigerian film or to see Nigerian fashion and so on and so forth.”
Now, she said there is a destination point right in the centre of London where this culture can travel to.
In addition to film screenings, the venue will host masterclasses, industry panels, and live performances by established and emerging talent.
Looking ahead, she hopes 10 years down the line, a venue like EbonyLife Place London will be “commonplace” and “mainstream”.
“There should be several others opening. So, cinemas, you know, culture hubs, food, fashion, art, bringing it all together.”
The two-storey venue also has a bar, a lounge, a Nigerian restaurant, a boutique showcasing African and diaspora designers, and walls lined with their artwork.
Its centrepiece, however, is the cinema, fitted with red seats, wood panelling, and soft lighting. It has been named “Amani”, meaning peace and harmony in Swahili.
The project, financed almost entirely by Abudu’s media group, mirrors the upscale lifestyle complex she launched in Lagos in 2019.
Abudu, who is widely credited with helping usher in the era of Nollywood blockbusters, said African creatives should stop asking others to make room for them and instead “take responsibility for creating our own spaces”.
Access will be through a membership scheme, details of which have yet to be announced. Such systems are common in Britain, particularly among cultural institutions. There will be no ethnic or nationality restrictions.
“Membership is open to everyone,” she insisted.
The cinema’s programme is still being finalised. But here too, the objective is clear.
“We will have films from all parts of Africa. Everything should be on the table. We would show movies that celebrate black actors, black storytelling. That is why we are here,” Abudu said.
