The Amani Auditorium will run a year-round programme with a strong focus on Nollywood, and the opening coincided with the London Film Festival.
EbonyLife Place London opened on Thursday 8 October in south-west London, near Nine Elms. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan attended the ceremony alongside its founder, the London-born Nigerian media entrepreneur Mo Abudu.
The main draw is the 160-seat Amani Auditorium, and its year-round schedule will concentrate heavily on Nollywood productions from Nigeria, plus other titles about the Black experience. Masterclasses, industry panels and live performances will also be hosted in the venue. The multi-storey building has a bar, a Nigerian restaurant and a boutique showing African and diaspora designers. A lounge called Fàhinti takes its name from a Yoruba word meaning to lean back and rest.
Abudu said the venue grew from a wish to showcase stories that, in her view, had lacked a home. "I do think there is a younger audience of young people now that just want to see great storytelling," she said.
Abudu argued that Britain has too few venues showing Black cinema, and she said representation matters a great deal to her.
The project, financed almost entirely by her media group, mirrors the upscale lifestyle complex she launched in Lagos in 2019.
Khan said "London is the number one place in Europe to film", placing the capital just behind Los Angeles and ahead of New York in film production. He added: "As long as I'm mayor, we'll invest in culture."
After the opening, Khan shared a post on Instagram. "Proud to see this exciting partnership between Lagos and London, two global capitals of creativity, go from strength to strength," he wrote.
Abudu announced the grand opening in a series of posts on X, describing the venue as "A space rooted in Africa, inspired by London and open to everyone."
The opening coincided with the London Film Festival. Screen Daily reports that the venue opens to the public this weekend.
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