Tag Archives: BET

South African, UK film Stolen in the works

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South African and UK action thriller movie Stolen is set to go into production next month.

Uzanenkosi Mahlangu

The coproduction, for streaming service BET+, will be produced by South Africa’s Uzanenkosi Mahlangu of Ants Multimedia and Shantelle Rochester, CEO of London based production company Ida Rose.

Stolen follows Seline Franklin, a single mother with a military background. While running her own private security business for high-profile individuals in the UK with ex-military colleagues, her own life takes a tragic turn when her teenage daughter is involved in a fatal shooting on the streets of Durban in South Africa.

According to the British Film Institute’s UK Global Screen Fund, Stolen is one of the productions that received a grant through the international coproduction strand of the fund, financed by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

The fund is aimed at increasing projects’ ability to reach international audiences, creating skilled jobs, and boosting the long-term reach of UK content worldwide.

The cast of Stolen includes Christine Adams, Luka Peros, Jimmy Jean Louis, Michael Landes and Alba Amira.

The film’s director, Sheridan De Myer, shared the news on Instagram, saying: “Finally, it’s out of the bag. Ida Rose and Ants Media team up for action thriller film Stolen, directed by Sheridan De Myers. Stolen is all set to hit the ground running from next month. It is a groundbreaking production set to be the first of an official franchise with BET+.”

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ViacomCBS rejigs senior team in Africa

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ViacomCBS Networks International (VCNI) has rejigged its executive leadership team in Africa ahead of veteran exec Alex Okosi’s move to YouTube EMEA.

Craig Paterson

Craig Paterson, senior VP, business operations for VCN Africa, and Monde Twala, VP of VCN Africa’s BET and of youth and music at VCNI and Africa, have been elevated to lead VCN Africa as co-general managers.

They will take up the positions on March 1 after Okosi leaves his role as executive VP and MD of VCN Africa and BET International at the end of February to join YouTube as MD of the Google-owned platform’s EMEA emerging markets.

As senior VP and general manager at VCN Africa, Paterson will be responsible for all corporate functions, including business development and strategy.

He spent nearly five years at Viacom, beginning in 2011 as VP of operations and finance in Africa and returned to the company in 2018 as senior VP of business operations in Africa.

Monde Twala

As senior VP and general manager, editorial at VCN Africa, Twala will focus on content, creative, editorial and marketing for VCNI brands.

Twala joined the company in 2016 after nearly 20 years’ experience in the South African broadcasting and media industry.

“Since launching MTV Base in 2005, Alex has spearheaded the development of our business on the continent, which now delivers more channels to Africa than any other international network, reaching 100 million viewers in 48 territories across MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and BET,” said Raffaele Annecchino, president of ViacomCBS Networks EMEA and Asia.

“Craig and Monde are experts in their respective areas and in addition to incredible business acumen, have demonstrated leadership and collaborative excellence throughout each of their careers and tenures with the company,” added Annecchino.

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