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Exclusive: Amazon MGM Studios is hatching big plans to match its international originals with major brands after handing new roles to Ludovic Attal and Ned Mitchell.

Prime Video’s Head of International Originals James Farrell outlined the move in a note to staff seen by Deadline, with Attal taking on the role of Brand Partnerships, EU Originals, based in London and Mitchell the same position for Latin American, Canadian and Australian Originals, based in LA.

Farrell wrote: “The addition of ads in Prime Video has widened the aperture of how we can work with premium brands around the world in terms of sponsorships and integrations, and it is critical that the Studio be able to collaborate with our colleagues at both Amazon Ads and Prime Video Advertising in this endeavor.”

In effect, Prime Video is planning to create brand partnerships for its biggest European shows, which include various versions of...

Prime Video has released first-look images for “Christmas in Lagos,” a holiday romantic comedy from “Gangs of Lagos” multi-hyphenate Jade Osiberu that features chart-topping Afrobeats sensation Ayra Starr and a loaded cast of Nigerian pop and screen stars.

The film marks the first and only original to come out of Osiberu’s groundbreaking, multi-title pact with the streaming giant, which announced earlier this year that it was pressing pause on its original productions in Africa. Osiberu confirmed to Variety that she has formally exited that deal.

Taking its cues — and maybe a few meet-cutes — from “Love Actually,” “Christmas in Lagos” sets a series of interlocking stories against the backdrop of Lagos’ raucous “Detty December” festivities, following four friends navigating friendship, love and loss during the holiday season.

The cast includes Teniola A. Aladese, Shalom C. Obiago, Rayxia Ojo and Shaffy Bello, with on-screen appearances from some of the biggest names in Afrobeats,...

Amazon Prime Video is restructuring its international business to focus on European originals. The re-org will involve cutting content and staff in Africa and the Middle East.

Shows from the Mena region that have already been greenlit or contracted are still on the slate, including “Lol Za” and “Ebuka Turns Up Africa,” but it may stop greenlighting local originals in Sub Saharan Africa, the Middle East and North Africa for the foreseeable future.

Although Prime Video will continue to operate in those territories, there may be redundancies in the local teams.

Meanwhile the European team will be split into two, both reporting into Prime Video Europe VP Barry Furlong. One, known as EU Established and led by country director for France Brigitte Ricou-Bellan, will focus on the U.K., Germany, Italy, France and Spain. The other, EU Emerging, will focus on growing businesses in Benelux, the Nordics and Cee. It...

Exclusive: Prime Video’s teams in Africa and the Middle East & North Africa region are facing layoffs, as part of a wider restructure that also “rebalances” investment towards Amazon’s European content division.

The move will split Europe in two clusters and see “emerging” territories such as Benelux, the Cee and the Nordics get new investment, with funding for African and Mena slashed. In the past hour, Prime Video’s VP & Gm for Emea, Barry Furlong, has outlined the raft of changes to staff in a memo seen by Deadline.

Among the decisions, which are being defined as a “rebalance” of resources, Prime Video will create two European clusters, EU Established (EU5) and EU Emerging (Eux), with new roles for several execs.

This impacts the Sub-Saharan Africa and Mena, which will see investment decrease to what are being described as “prior levels.”

Furlong said the restructure is part of a...

Seasoned media executive Gideon Khobane has joined Amazon as the director for Prime Video Africa.

Khobane joins with a remit to support the growth of the Prime Video service across sub-Saharan Africa, including South Africa and Nigeria. Working closely with the Africa Originals team, headed up by Ned Mitchell, the content acquisitions team, led by Ayanna Lonian and product teams responsible for launching customer features, Khobane is tasked with helping to provide a mix of original and exclusive TV series and movies for existing Prime Video members and to attract new customers in sub-Saharan Africa.

The executive, whose experience over his 18-year career ranges from pay-tv to free-to-air broadcasters across sub-Saharan Africa, most recently served as a group executive responsible for general entertainment for the Multichoice Group, and previous to that, served as CEO of SuperSport International and channel director at M-Net. Khobane will continue to be based in South Africa.

Amazon Prime Video launched the latest chapter in its global expansion Thursday night in Nigeria with the flashy premiere of its first African Original, “Gangs of Lagos,” a gritty crime thriller from celebrated multi-hyphenate Jade Osiberu.

At a packed house on Lagos’ ritzy Victoria Island, luminaries from the Nigerian film and fashion industries turned out to toast a movie that electrified the boisterous homegrown crowd ahead of its global release.

“I’m overwhelmed,” said Osiberu after a rousing ovation. “It’s a dream come true.”

“Gangs of Lagos,” which drops globally on Prime Video on Friday, is the first film to come out of the streamer’s three-year overall deal with Osiberu, the creator of domestic box-office sensations “Sugar Rush” and “Isoken” — one of a host of recent pacts with Nigerian creators from the U.S. tech giant as it tries to outflank Netflix in Africa’s biggest market.

Ned Mitchell,...

Now that he’s exited “The Daily Show” after seven years, Trevor Noah has announced his next gig — which will see him return to his native South Africa.

According to a release from Prime Video, Noah has signed on to host the first South African version of “Lol: Last One Laughing”.

The series is set to launch in 2024, reports Variety, and will feature Noah as host while 10 famous South African comedians and entertainers pull out all the stops to make their fellow comics crack up while simultaneously trying to maintain a straight face.

Read More: Trevor Noah, First Humorist Since Charlie Chaplin In 1965, To Receive Dutch Erasmus Prize

The winner walks away with 1 million Rand, earmarked for a South African charity of the winner’s choosing.

“I’m excited to be back home to host Prime Video’s first South African Original, ‘Lol: Last One Laughing,’ and to have a...

Amazon Prime Video has set its first South African original, “Lol: Last One Laughing,” an unscripted comedy series hosted by Trevor Noah.

The series, which will launch in early 2024, sees Noah pit 10 famous South African comedians and entertainers against one another to see who can keep a straight face while simultaneously trying to make their opponents laugh. They compete for a grand prize of 1 million Rand that goes to the winner’s South African charity of choice.

“I’m excited to be back home to host Prime Video’s first South African Original, ‘Lol: Last One Laughing,’ and to have a chance to connect with my home audience,” said Noah. “I am equally delighted for the opportunity to be working alongside my fellow home-grown comedy stars on a show that not only entertains but gives back to the South African production and charity communities.”

“We are delighted to be announcing...

Trevor Noah is heading home after leaving The Daily Show.

The comedian is to host Amazon’s first South African original, a remake of its Lol: Last One Laughing format.

The series, which launches next year, will see Noah pit 10 famous South African comedians and entertainers against one another to see who can keep a straight face while simultaneously trying to make their opponents laugh – and lose. It’s a competition for a grand prize of R1 million, which goes to the winner’s South African charity of choice.

The format has been adapted in more than 20 countries including in Germany, Canada, Mexico and Australia.

The six-part series, featuring 30 minute episodes, is produced by Rapid Blue and Noah’s Day Zero Productions.

“I’m excited to be back home to host Prime Video’s first South African original, Lol: Last One Laughing, and to have a chance to connect with my home audience,...

Prime Video is taking audiences to Africa with “Gangs of Lagos”.

The streamer announced its first original African movie on Monday set in Nigeria. The film comes from acclaimed filmmaker, Jáde Osiberu, who serves as director and stars Tobi Bakre, Adesua Etomi-Wellington, Chike Osebuka, Chioma Chukwuka, and Iyabo Ojo.

Read More: ‘Citadel’ Trailer: Priyanka Chopra Jonas And Richard Madden Join Forces To Fight A New World Order In Prime Video Series

“‘Gangs of Lagos’ is a unique story about family and friendship, against the action-packed backdrop and striking set pieces of the streets of Lagos,” said Wangi Mba-Uzoukwu, head of Nigerian Originals, Prime Video. “As the first Nigerian Original to launch on Prime Video, ‘Gangs of Lagos’ sets the tone and standard, with the authentically Nigerian storyline in a genre that is so popular around the globe, making it a movie for our audiences at home and abroad.”

Gangs of Lagos...

Hardly a year after it inked its first African content deal — a multi-year licensing agreement with Nigerian production outfit Inkblot Studios — Amazon Prime Video is primed to expand its footprint on the continent, looking to unlock a largely untapped African consumer market and lock down deals with the continent’s top talents.

“We now have a dedicated local content strategy for the continent across the board, from originals to be developed and produced by Amazon Studios, to an exciting licensing slate with top-tier producers,” said Ned Mitchell, the Los Angeles-based head of originals for Africa and the Middle East for Prime Video and Amazon Studios.

The streamer has made a raft of hirings in the past two years to shore up its Africa team — moving “quickly,” Mitchell admitted, “but with real savvy to find the right local experts who have the right approach that’s deeply respectful to talent and...

The fifth Joburg Film Festival wrapped Sunday night with the caper comedy “The Umbrella Men,” from homegrown director John Barker, a local premiere that cast and crew celebrated by promenading through Nelson Mandela Square with brightly colored parasols. Earlier in the week, the first edition of the Jbx Content Market — a two-day industry confab running parallel to the fest — concluded after offering a short but wide-ranging overview of the state of play for Africa’s screen industries in 2023.

There’s no clear-cut portrait that can emerge from an industry gathering on a continent as rich and diverse as Africa, where film and TV production and consumer trends — as with everything else — vary widely from one country to the next. The major markets of South Africa and Nigeria still dominate the conversation at such events; global players like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video see those territories as key to their expansion...

Overall Deal

Jáde Osiberu, creator of upcoming Amazon Original movie “Gangs of Lagos,” has inked an overall deal with the streamer. The three-year deal will include original scripted dramas and features from Osiberu’s production company Greoh Studios.

Osiberu, who is the creator of hit projects including “Sugar Rush,” “Isoken” and “Gidi Up,” follows others creators including Steve McQueen, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Jenny Han in signing similar international agreements.

“I am overjoyed with this collaboration and already feel like I’m part of the Prime Video and Amazon Studios family,” said Osiberu. “It will be an absolute pleasure to introduce Prime Video audiences to the most exciting talent and storylines Nigeria has to offer, and I’m looking forward to continuing to help elevate Nigerian stories on a global scale.”

Ned Mitchell, head of African and Middle East Originals at Prime Video and Amazon Studios, said: “Collaborating with visionary and...

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Amazon Prime Video has signed a three-year overall deal with Nigerian filmmaker Jáde Osiberu that will see her develop and produce original scripted TV series and feature films for the global streamer through her production company Greoh Studios.

One of Nigeria’s best-known and most successful director/producers, Osiberu is behind such features as Isoken (2017) and Sugar Rush (2019) and is the creator/writer/director of Amazon’s highly-anticipated new Nigerian original movie Gangs of Lagos, which Amazon is screening at the Toronto Film Festival this year. The movie is set to launch as the first Nigerian original exclusively on Prime Video later this year.

“I am overjoyed with this collaboration and already feel like I’m part of the Prime Video and Amazon Studios family,” said Osiberu. “It will be an absolute pleasure to introduce Prime Video audiences to the most exciting talent...

Jáde Osiberu, the co-writer and director of Gangs of Lagos, has signed an overall deal with Prime Video, the studio behind the upcoming feature drama.

Osiberu’s three-year deal will include the creation of original scripted TV and movies, produced by her production company Greoh Studios. The deal is announced as Gangs of Lagos, Osiberu’s second feature, screens for the press at the Toronto Film Festival. The movie is set to launch as the first Nigerian Original exclusively on Prime Video later this year and is billed as a high-stakes, gritty, and hard-hitting action crime-thriller, with an authentic storyline centered on a group of friends who each have to navigate destiny, growing up on the bustling streets and neighborhood of Isale Eko, Lagos.

“I am overjoyed with this collaboration and already feel like I’m part of the Prime Video and Amazon Studios family,” said Jáde Osiberu. “It will...

In a bid to expand Prime Video in key African markets, Amazon Studios is recruiting a London-based head of Nigerian originals, Variety has learned.

In a recent job posting, the streaming platform has said it’s looking for an experienced senior creative executive to work with its Nigeria originals team, and oversee both scripted and non-scripted content. The role will report directly into Ned Mitchell, the Los Angeles-based head of originals for Africa and the Middle East for Amazon Studios.

“You will create a welcoming ‘Home for Talent’ to include creators and artists who represent the best of Nigeria,” reads an ad for the role. “You will cultivate talent of all levels and backgrounds and elevate Nigerian voices and stories for the enjoyment of audiences in Nigeria, Africa and the world. You will ensure that Originals, and the teams working on them, include and reflect Nigeria’s diversity across gender,...