South Africa’s Both Worlds and Atlanta-Based Freeli Films Launch First Africa–U.S. Micro-Drama Co-Production Partnership

Both Worlds, the Cape Town-based film and television production group, and Freeli Films, an Atlanta-based production company, have announced a co-production partnership to develop and produce premium micro-drama series and feature films. The productions will be shot in South Africa and across the African continent, as well as in the United States, and are designed first and foremost for South African, broader African and American audiences, and then expanding to more global markets.

Founded by J. Carter with the aim of “centering Black stories and talent both in front and behind the camera,” Freeli Films has worked with platforms such as BET, Starz, Peacock and Amazon Prime Video.

“Partnering with Both Worlds is more than an international collaboration, it’s a strategic alignment rooted in culture, authenticity, and scale,” said Carter. “At Freeli Films, we believe in meeting Black audiences where they are, not where the industry assumes they should be. That means creating micro-dramas and feature films that reflect their realities, ambitions, and global influence. Superserving the African and African-American consumers isn’t a niche strategy, it’s the future of storytelling. When we invest in stories that honor the depth, complexity, and buying power of African audiences, we’re not just expanding markets, we’re building legacy.”

Both Worlds brings nearly three decades of award-winning production work, a creative team with deep roots in African storytelling and broadcasting, and strong and tested distribution relationships.

“We chose to partner with Freeli Films because we share the same starting point: the belief that the audience you’re making content for deserves to see itself on screen, fully and without compromise,” said Both Worlds Executive Chairman Thierry Cassuto. “South Africa and Africa have exceptional talent, on both sides of the camera, that the world hasn’t seen yet. Amazi is the platform that changes that and Freeli is exactly the right partner to help us take it further than we could alone.”

The first slate of co-productions are expected to feature Taye Diggs (The Best Man film series), the American actor and producer whose recent work with Freeli Films includes vertical dramas such as Another Man’s Wife and Off Limits & All Mine. Diggs will be paired with established South African and African performers, creating series that Both Worlds describes as “built to resonate with African and American audiences alike while carrying genuine international reach”

The co-productions will form the premium international arm of Amazi, a new content brand and production entity established by Both Worlds to develop original short-form vertical content for African audiences. The initiative will begin in South Africa before expanding across the continent.

Amazi’s slate focuses on two areas: hyperlocal African-originals programme and premium English-language co-productions with international partners such as Freeli Films. The latter will pair South African and other African screen talent with performers of global profile.

“Africa has always had dynamic and extraordinary stories. What has been missing is a format built for the way Africans actually watch on the phone, in local languages, in content that reflects their own lives,” says Executive Producer and Amazi Chief Creative Officer Flavia Motsisi. “Amazi is our answer to that. And the partnership with Freeli Films is rooted in something we share: the conviction that representation is not a gesture towards an audience it is the foundation the work is built on.”

Both Worlds began its micro-drama journey in November 2025, producing two proof-of-concept series in South Africa: The King, The Affair and the Heir Son, in isiXhosa; and Till Payback Do Us Part, in isiZulu and Sesotho. According to Both Worlds, the two shows were developed through “dynamic writers’ rooms that brought together established South African screenwriters alongside emerging voices, as well as cast and crew, all guided through the distinct craft demands of the vertical format within an intensive, collaborative process.” The rooms were led by Motsisi and Both Worlds’ Executive Producer and veteran head writer Karen Jeynes.

The Freeli Films partnership is the first in a series of international co-production agreements Both Worlds intends to establish under the Amazi banner as the company builds a diversified global slate alongside its African-language originals programme.

The announcement coincides with the opening of the Johannesburg Film Festival (3–8 March 2026) where Motsisi is moderating a micro-drama panel within JBX Talks, the festival’s industry conference section. According to Motsisi, “the panel reflects a growing recognition within the African screen industry that short-form vertical content represents a structural shift in how stories reach audiences, not a passing format trend.”

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