Talented UK based screenwriter, Vanessa Awong Eya'a has launched Africa’s first comedy series via social media platform, Zoom.
The show which is the first of its kind is a combination of drama, comedy, love, and personal adventure.
Dubbed Virtual Colleagues, she told local reporters the “story is about June, a Nigerian CEO of a solar company based in Accra, Ghana. When the pandemic hits, June, who thrives on face-to-face contact, struggles to work with her dysfunctional pan-African team via Zoom calls and new technology to save the company from bankruptcy.”
Born into African and Jamaican ancestry, Mrs. Eya’a noted the project is intended to amplify the importance of renewable energy.
“The project is meant to show renewable energy in a good light. My issue was that there is not enough emotional connection to the renewable sector in general.
People don’t think of it as a way to electrify,” she said.
She continued: “…also behind the show, there is not just entrepreneurship and love and the whole personal journey, it is showing how solar can be hype and cool and how we should use it to accelerate the transition into renewable energy.”
Brian Angels, a Ghanaian and lead member of the cast disclosed in the same interview that he had doubts about how a comedy series could be pulled-off virtually.
Angels who has worked on Beast of No Nation and Leila Djansi’s Forty and Single said he was attracted to the challenge of working on the novel project.
“When Vanessa first told me the stuff was going to be shot on Zoom, I kind of like, what is this? How will this work?” he recounted.
“…And I was like, well, for me, it is acting and I will do it anyway whether it looks good or doesn’t look good the story is there and we are telling a story,” he added.
Winnie Ikedashi, the lead actress otherwise known as June indicated she fell in love with his character at first introduction.
Her major inspiration, according to her was because the series was innovative, its news, fresh, and African.
Watch the episode below: