SPOTLIGHT: AFRICAN HOLLYWOOD WRAP-UP

This year has seen a remarkable increase of African actors in  Hollywood films. From Chiwetel Ejiofor's painstakingly beautiful and poignant role in Steve McQueen's "12 years A Slave" to David Oyelowo's powerful performance in Lee Daniels "The Butler", it seems as though African actors and films alike are finally getting the attention and respect of Hollywood.

Both Idris Elba and Chiwetel Ejiofor,  two TDB faves and my absolute obsessions, recently sat down with the Queen of daytime TV, Oprah Winfrey, to discuss their respective  films. Idris Elba, who is currently starring in  the Nelson Mandela bio pic " Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom" discussed Mandela's legacy  and what it meant for him to portray such an honored and beloved man. 

Here's a clip of Idris recounting his first night in Nelson Mandela's prison cell.

And here is Chiwetel Ejiofor explaining to Oprah how the critically acclaimed film, "12 Years A Slave" can be seen as more of a love story above anything else and how the rise of black films in the past year is a reflection of audiences wanting more diversity in films.

I'm so glad these two actors are finally getting the respect and attention they deserve; but they're not the only Africans making headway in Hollywood. The Sundance Film Festival recently unveiled their 2014 competition line up and Ethiopian filmmaker Zeresenay Berhane Mehari's "Difret" has been selected as one of the twelve films competing in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition category. In the film we follow Meaza Ashenafi, a young lawyer who operates under the government radar helping women and children; but, her latest case threatens to expose everything and threatens not only her career but her survival.

Filmmaker Zeresenay Berhane Mehari

On the lighter side we have the South African family friendly 3D animation film "Zambezia". With a star studded cast including Samuel L. Jackson, Jeff Goldblum, and Abigail Breslin, Zambezia takes us on a visually stunning and enchanting adventure into the life of Kai, a young Falcon who lives a sheltered life with his Father until a chance encounter with  an eccentric bird has Kai on an adventure filled journey to the enticing city of Zambezia, a bustling city that promises great food, music, sight and sounds.

Set to screen in over 30 theaters in over 50 countries, director and co-writer Wayne Thornley has high hopes for what this film can mean for the South African animation industry as well as how audiences view South Africa stating, "I want people to sit back and have a fantastic time with the characters and have a fantastic insight into some of the amazing African landscapes that we've put into this film. But also I want them to come away really surprised that something like that could come out of Africa and South Africa in particular."

Oh and did I forget to mention my girl Lupita Nyong'o just won best supporting actress at the 39th Annual Los Angeles Film Critics Awards!

With all of this new found attention in Hollywood, it seems as though Africans are having the best week ever.

- FARIDA