Award-winning script writer and author, Mona Ombogo, is one of four African writers expected to pitch their ideas and stories at the Series Mania Forum in Lille, France.
Following a six months of intensive development through the Realness Institute’s AuthenticA Series Lab, Ms Ombogo intends to pitch a new romantic thriller series called ‘Kanaan’ at the Forum.
The AuthenticA Series Lab is an episodic screenwriting programme run in partnership with The StoryBoard Collective, with support from the Canada Media Fund and industry partner Series Mania Forum, the major international gathering for the development, financing, and distribution of scripted television series.
“Providing African writers a safe space to develop the stories they want to tell with the resources they need to tell them is still a rare intervention. These four writers are proof of what becomes possible when that space actually exists,” said Mehret Mandefro, Creative Producer, Managing Director, Realness Institute.
Now in its fourth edition, AuthenticA Series Lab supports and mentors African writers in developing globally competitive television series, enabling them to pitch and connect with international partners, financiers, and producers.
Mona, who received the 2024 Women in Film Award for Best Script Writer and the Best Writing in a Series award at the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards for Netflix’s ‘Volume’, will be the only Kenyan from this year’s cohort.
She will present alongside Reem Morsi (Egypt/Canada), Gamel Apalayine (Ghana) and Joladé Olusanya (Nigeria/UK).
“At Series Mania Forum, we’re excited to showcase these four extraordinary talents from Africa on a global stage, where their rich and diverse stories can captivate the international industry,” says Francesco Capurro, Director, Series Mania Forum. “We’re proud to champion their voices and look forward to the impact they will make worldwide”
Mona has served as the head writer on for the popular M-Net series ‘Salem’ and ‘Shanga’, and as a writer for Showmax’s ‘Single Kiasi’.
