EXCLUSIVE: Prolific doc makers from both sides of the Atlantic are teaming up for a doc series on Afrobeats icon Fela Kuti.
Academy Award winner Roger Ross Williams and his One Story Up banner has teamed with BAFTA-winning UK producer Andy Mundy-Castle‘s DocHearts to create the program, which we understand is likely to be a four-part limited series on the African music pioneer.
Access has been secured to those close to the late Nigerian star, whose funeral in 1997 attracted hundreds of thousands of people. His focus on meshing West African music with funk and jazz, along with his ultra-charismatic performances, made him one of the 20th Century’s most important musicians, influencing the likes of Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, Jay-Z and Kanye West.
“We’re embarking on a landmark project to tell the definitive story of a radical African icon whose fearless fusion of music and politics shook the world and whose influence still reverberates powerfully today,” Mundy-Castle told Deadline.
We understand the project has driven significant interest, particularly among streamers.
Mundy-Castle, who directed and produced the BAFTA Television-winning doc White Nanny, Black Child in 2024, met Williams – who is known for his Academy Award-winning short film Music By Prudence and other docs such as Life Animated – at the Sheffield DocFest in the same year.
“I knew Roger from his films, which are so impressive,” said Mundy-Castle. “We did a fireside chat at Sheffield, and I was really inspired by someone telling true stories the way I wanted to. Our lenses both point towards those who are marginalised.”
He added that DocHearts and One Story Up had entered into a “completely healthy and wholesome” U.S.-UK partnership. With money for unscripted and doc projects hard to find on both sides of the pond, such co-production agreements are becoming more commonplace, especially at development stage.
Mundy-Castle, who launched DocHearts in 2016, is best known for Channel 5 doc White Nanny, Black Child, which was co-produced with Tigerlily Productions. His other productions include feature doc Misan Harriman: Shoot the People, set for a festival run this year, and numerous TV shows, branded content items and docs. He was named Mentor of the Year at the awards of the Edinburgh TV Festival’s charity, The TV Foundation, in 2025.
Wiliams, meanwhile, was the first African American to win an Academy Award, for 2009 short Music By Prudence. He has recently directed Netflix’s Stamped From the Beginning; Cassandro, Prime Video’s biographical drama about a gay professional wrestler; and HBO Max doc Love to Love You, Donna Summer. Further back credits include HBO doc The Apollo, Emmy winner Life Animated and God Loves Uganda.
He is considered one of the U.S. most prominent proponents of inclusive filmmaking and addressed the DEI pullback many studios are engaging in under pressure from President Donald Trump. Paramount Global, for example, vowed to end DEI policies and hire a bias ombudsman at CBS News as part of the agreement to get its merger with Skydance Media over the line.
“Let’s just say DEI is alive and well at One Story Up,” said Williams in an interview with Deadline in May. “This is our mission. It’s always been our mission, and we will always give opportunities to people from marginalized communities, outsiders.”
Mundy-Castle praised Williams for his work in inclusive filmmaking. “Roger has really done phenomenal work on increasing visibility and keeping inclusion at forefront of people’s minds at the highest level,” he said. “This partnership really speaks to something that has to become an increasing priority for companies: To forge relationships and create superpowers.”
Williams is represented by WME and Granderson Des Rochers. Mundy-Castle is represented by United Agents.
