The Realness Institute, in collaboration with The StoryBoard Collective and the Canada Media Fund, has announced the four African screenwriters selected for the fourth edition of the AuthenticA Series Lab. The program offers a unique opportunity for writers to develop original episodic series for a global audience.
The 2025 cohort includes a diverse group of talented storytellers:
- Gamel Apalayine (Ghana): An award-winning storyteller working in film, TV, theatre, and music.
- Joladé Olusanya (Nigerian-British): An award-winning poet, filmmaker, and photographer.
- Mona Ombogo (Kenyan): An acclaimed scriptwriter and bestselling author.
- Reem Morsi (Egyptian-Canadian): An award-winning filmmaker and human rights advocate.
The goal of AuthenticA is to equip participants with professionally developed pitch decks, pilot scripts, and a series “Bible” to help them secure funding and support on an international level. All intellectual property remains with the respective writer.
The program is a multi-stage journey, kicking off with an 8-day in-person residency in the Western Cape, South Africa, from September 3 to 10. This will be followed by online sessions until mid-December. The second in person residency will take place in Geneva, Switzerland, from January to March 2026, and the final residency will be in Lille, France, from March 20 to 27, 2026.
The final stop in Lille will see the participants pitch their projects at the Series Mania Forum, Europe’s largest co-production series market. This gives them a prime opportunity to present their work to talent scouts, sales agents, broadcasters, and investors from around the world.
The lab will be led by Emmy-nominated producer Mehret Mandefro and award-winning script consultant Selina Ukwuoma. Mandefro emphasizes the importance of the program, stating that it “gives African writers the time and space to get closer to their voice” in a landscape that often underinvests in the development phase of writing.
Ukwuoma adds, “We see a well of untapped potential… and our job is to show them how they can take people on the journey with them.”
The team will be supported by two new members: Mmabatho Kau, a seasoned producer and script consultant, and Thandeka Zwana, a versatile story consultant and script doctor.
The 2025 program received 168 applications from 24 countries, covering more than 30 different television series genres. The selected projects reflect the rich diversity and storytelling talent across the African continent and the diaspora.
2025 AuthenticA Series Lab screenwriters bios:
1. Gamel Apalayine (Ghana)
Gamel Apalayine is a Ghanaian storyteller working fluidly between film, television, theatre, music and new media. His short film THE MOB screened at the prestigious FESPACO (2019) and Zanzibar International Film Festival (2018), among others, eventually earning the Artistic Bravery Award at the 2018 DGLFF.
In television, Gamel served as Head Writer for two seasons and 560 episodes of the hit Ghanaian TV series DEDE for MultiChoice Ghana and Showmax. He was also Head Writer for two seasons of the hit show ENO, Ghana’s first Showmax Original Drama Series, and contributed as a writer to an upcoming CANAL+ Original Drama Series, yet to be announced. In theatre, Gamel co-wrote and adapted HONEYMOON HOTEL (2025), a romantic comedy that premiered to critical acclaim at the National Theatre of Ghana. He directed Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer Prize–winning drama RUINED at the ETS Drama Studio. In performance, he has starred in several leading roles including the titular part in Federico García Lorca’s Yerma, Ayi Kwei Armah’s Osiris Rising, and I Told You So, a theatrical adaptation of the beloved 1970 Ghanaian comedy film.
Through his newly formed creative company, Whistling Rocks, Gamel is developing a dynamic slate of projects across film, television, music, and theatre, that reflect his commitment to telling bold, diverse African stories with honesty, humour and heart, and in 2026, he will carry that mission to the esteemed Columbia University’s School of the Arts in New York City to begin his Film MFA in Creative Producing.
2. Joladé Olusanya (Nigeria/UK)
Joladé Olusanya is an award-winning Nigerian-British poet, filmmaker and photographer whose work spans page, screen and community practice. Raised between Lagos and London, he tells intimate stories of identity, masculinity, faith and belonging, often blending lyrical writing with cinematic visuals. His debut poetry pamphlet, Jabez Incarnate (Out-Spoken Press, 2025), traces memory across cities and generations; a debut photography book is forthcoming from US indie publisher OtherOther.
As a poet, Joladé has been commissioned by the BBC and the Barbican, performed at Africa Writes, Royal Festival Hall and BET, and published by Poetry London and in multiple anthologies. He won the 2017 Out-Spoken London Performance Poetry Prize and the 2017 Out-Spoken Prize for Poetry, and placed third in the 2021 Poetry London Prize.
As a director and photographer, he has created work for FIFA, CHANEL, Canon, Sony/Columbia Records, BBC and Bentley Motors. His work has been highlighted by the Financial Times, The Guardian, British Cinematographer, The Hollywood Reporter, VSCO, Pitch and It’s Nice That, and exhibited with Canon Vision, Kodak at The Photography Show, SXWKS and FABA. In 2024, his poetic documentary mandem was commissioned and produced by Warner Bros. Discovery and has screened at film festivals across the UK.
A BAFTA Connect member, Joladé was invited to Buckingham Palace in 2013 and 2024 in recognition of his contributions to poetry and to British film and television. He mentors emerging creatives and serves on charity boards. Through his production company, By The Kin, he is developing a slate of short films and an original TV series while building community-led projects across Europe, the US and West Africa.
3. Mona Ombogo (Kenya)
Mona Ombogo is a globally recognized, award-winning Kenyan scriptwriter and best-selling author dedicated to shaping the future of African storytelling. Her international upbringing—born in Kenya, raised in Swaziland, and educated in the UK and US—has given her a unique lens on the world, which she uses to craft stories that are both culturally specific and universally resonant.
Mona’s exceptional talent has been honored with prestigious accolades, including 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 (AMVCA) for the hit Netflix series ‘Volume’, which she head-wrote. Her work is consistently sought after by major industry players, having served as head writer for the popular M-Net series ‘Salem’ and ‘Shanga’, and as a writer for Showmax’s ‘Single Kiasi’.
Her passion for developing new talent is evident in her work as a development executive and trainer for industry giants like Netflix and the Multichoice Talent Factory. This commitment to mentorship is complemented by her own continuous growth, having been selected for distinguished programs like the Red Sea Series Lab, where her project ‘Generation ‘A’ won a grant, and a five-week summer residency at the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts with ‘Deserter’.
As a director, her feature film ‘Unseen, Unsung, Unforgotten’ was nominated for eight Kalasha Awards, winning two. With a deep understanding of both local nuance and global storytelling craft, Mona is uniquely positioned to bring stories like Deserter to an international audience.
4. Reem Morsi (Egypt/Canada)
Reem is a filmmaker with a background as a professional Scuba Diver and a Human Rights advocate at International Organizations. Morsi’s short films have garnered many awards and screened at many festivals including TIFF, 2012. Her multi-genres feature film as a writer/director/producer, Banned, a Telefilm Talent to Watch film, was short listed for Sundance Film Festival & is currently starting its festival tour. She directed the feature, Queen Tut & episodes of Virgins! including the season finale, and is currently in development on her TV series “Zahra’s Faces” & “Sweet & Sore” (optioned). Reem participated at Berlinale Script Station, Realness Institute, Cannes Atelier de Cinema Du Monde, TIFF Talents, Torino Feature Comedy Lab, Women in the Director’s Chair, Canadian Film Center & Warner Bros Director’s Program.
Morsi’s film credits also include THEIR FEAST (2012 TIFF, BBC, Cine Sud), NOSTALGIA (2015 – WIFTV), THE DOOR (Whistler, 2016 & Best Drama at 2017 Yorkton Film Festival, Audience Choice Award & Best Screenplay at WIFT Showcase 2018), SHOW & TELL (2016-WIFT/BravoFact pitch competition) & won Golden Sheaf Awards for Best Director, Best Short Subject & Best Emerging Director (Yorkton Film Festival, 2017). Reem also won the Canadian National Genre Competition by WIFTV for her series sci/fi genre concept, FISH (currently in development). She’s also in development on two other scripted series.