EXCLUSIVE: U.S.-based producer Autumn Bailey-Ford (On a Wing and a Prayer) and Simo Kubheka and Damien Brown of the South African-based NV Film Studios and Services have partnered to launch AfriNova Entertainment Group. 

The group said the new company will aim to bridge “African and international storytelling through innovative entertainment partnerships.” 

Bailey-Ford, Kubheka, and Brown have said the company’s main focus will be international film and television production, co-productions between Africa and global markets, talent development and creative partnerships, distribution and financing opportunities, and culturally impactful storytelling with worldwide appeal.

“AfriNova Entertainment Group was created to build bridges through storytelling,” Bailey-Ford said in a statement. “Our vision is to create powerful content that not only entertains audiences around the world but also creates sustainable opportunities for filmmakers, talent, and creative professionals across Africa and beyond.” 

She added that the company will aim to open new doors as “an international production house, with centres in the United States and Africa, which we all call home.”

Kubheka added: “This is a new era of African film production at a global level. The combination of Autumn’s creative talents, paired with our locations’ natural wonders, plus the biggest film studio in Africa, forms a unique opportunity to show what it means to be ‘Made in Africa’.”

NV Film Studios launched in 2023. The facility is based at Lourensford Estate, around 40km from Cape Town International Airport, with 118,000 sq ft of stage space. NV Film Services is the company’s production service arm. Bailey-Ford is a producer with credits such as Amazon’s forthcoming Barbershop series.