Fremantle secures exclusive first look deal with Born In Me

Fremantle and De Maio Entertainment announced a partnership with Afua Hirsch’s UK based production company Born In Me with an exclusive global first look deal. The agreement will give Fremantle, in collaboration with De Maio Entertainment, the rights to co-develop, produce, and distribute, scripted and unscripted television and film projects with the production company.

Known for her work on culture, identity, and history in the African diaspora and worldwide, Hirsch recently co-presented the factual documentary series “Enslaved” alongside Samuel Jackson, shedding new light on 400 years of human trafficking by Europeans from Africa to the New World. The series is distributed by Fremantle and has been sold into over 140 territories, with broadcasts on CBC (Canada), Epix (United States), and the BBC (UK).

The first project in development is a TV drama series based on the true story of Kweku Adoboli, the former investment banker who was jailed in 2012 after unauthorised losses of $2 billion. The drama will interweave the pressures and emotional complexities of being a black man working in London, becoming criminalised, and battling deportation to a country that he left when he was only four years old. The timely development of the project comes as it reaches the 10th anniversary of his arrest (September 2011). The series will be produced by Hirsch for Born In Me, and Tony Tagoe and Danny Damah for TD Afrique Films.

“This is an incredible opportunity to work with Fremantle and De Maio Entertainment as partners who appreciate the range of my work – from journalistic storytelling, to scripted projects that I hope will push the boundaries of creativity. All my work is motivated by compelling stories that reflect underserved audiences, centering diverse voices, experiences and talent, and I’m confident that we will be able to elevate this mission together,”  commented Afua Hirsch, Managing Director at Born In Me.

Christian Vesper, President of Global Drama at Fremantle, added: “Afua has a passion and clear talent for creative storytelling in the world of politics, current affairs and drama, both on and off screen. We are excited to work with her, the Born In Me team and De Maio Entertainment to produce relevant and original content with depth for audiences worldwide”.