Four African TV Screenwriters Look to Break Out With New Genre Shows at Series Mania (EXCLUSIVE)

variety.com:

Christopher Vourlias Four African episodic screenwriters will take the stage Tuesday at Series Mania to pitch the genre-flavored series they currently have in development, a crop of shows that reflect the rich and fertile landscape for African series creators looking to tap into the global TV market.

The shows are created by the first graduating class of the AuthenticA Series Lab, a training program for African episodic screenwriters launched last year by Realness Institutein partnership with Geneva-based philanthropic organization The StoryBoard Collective and Series Mania.

The four participants have spent the past six months in a collaborative environment that included both online workshops and residencies in South Africa and Switzerland, while attending masterclasses with leading industry professionals and working with a mentoring team comprised of creative producer Mehret Mandefro and story expert Selina Ukwuoma.

The four creators have each developed a bible and a pilot episode that they’ll be presenting to potential partners and financiers March 21 at 3:30pm. “After two years of running Episodic Lab in partnership with Netflix we could not be more proud to have expanded our offering across all African countries through AuthenticA Series lab,” said Realness Institute executive director Elias Ribeiro. “We learned so much from that experience and fine-tuned the program so writers complete their six-month incubation with a pitch deck and a pilot script ready for the market.” “I am so proud of the work these writers did in the lab because it reflects a standard of excellence that is possible when African writers get the right resources and support,” added Mandefro. “StoryBoard is convinced of the power TV series have