Media Entrepreneurs Launch New Global-Focused African Film & TV Studio

Media entrepreneurs Marie Lora-Mungai (also founder web and mobile African video-on-demand platform, Buni.tv) and Tendeka Matatu (producer Jerusalema, Cold Harbor) have announced a partnership that will see the creation of a global studio engaged in all aspects of development, finance, production, distribution and exhibition of African content, within and outside Africa.

Called Restless Global (www.restless.global), the collaboration will bring together Matatu's and Lora-Mungai's existing companies - Restless Talent Management, Ten10 Films (production and distribution), Buni Media (production, animation & film studios) and Buni.tv (VOD) - under one umbrella, with the long term goal being to leverage each unit to control and harmonize every step of the content pipeline for maximum result.

- Restless Global already enjoys strong relationships with some of Africa's top film and television talents through its agency Restless Talent Management, which represents major actors, screenwriters and directors, such as OC Ukeje (Nigeria), Nse Ikpe-Etim (Nigeria), Nana Mensah (US/Ghana) or Tosh Gitonga (Kenya). Among Restless Talent Management's immediate plans are to strengthen their presence in Nigeria and to expand to Southern Africa.

- Restless Global's film and television production arm, Restless Productions, is developing a slate of 8 film projects and 13 scripted and non-scripted TV shows. While all the projects will be targeting a wider pan-African and global audience, the focus will be specifically on the Nigerian market, which is experiencing strong and sustained growth.

- Restless Channels is Restless Global's branded TV department. Launched in April 2012, Buni.tv is Restless Channels' first digital network, one of the pioneers of African VOD and the leading online destination for high quality pan-African content, having reached 1.5 million unique visitors.

- Restless Global will also handle the distribution of its own titles, as well as a select number of acquisitions, through its distribution arm Restless Distribution.

Africa is the next big media frontier. Nollywood is now valued at $5.1 billion, South Africa is attracting more international productions than ever before, the African television sector is growing at an exciting pace, and mobile data use (including mobile video) will increase 20-fold by 2020. Over the past 10 years, Tendeka and I have been independently very successful at creating outstanding media properties and we are now looking forward to joining forces as Restless Global to leverage Africa's massive opportunity, said Lora-Mungai.

As the African media frontier rapidly expands, combining our companies and individual expertise under one umbrella was a logical step in our trajectory towards becoming the main proponents of African talent and creative content. In launching Restless Global we are providing a vital link between creative passion and ambitious commercial purpose, said Matatu.

For more information, visit www.restless.global

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