EbonyLife’s Mo Abudu Honored with Woman in Series Award

Mo Abudu, CEO of the EbonyLife Group, has been selected as the recipient of Series Mania’s second annual Woman in Series Award.

The award, in association with European Women’s Audiovisual Network (EWA Network) and Pour Les Femmes Dans Les Médias (PFDM), is given to a remarkable woman from the audiovisual industry to honor her vision and leadership.

Last year’s award went to Christina Sulebakk, general manager of HBO Max EMEA.

Abudu oversees all the divisions of the EbonyLife Group, which include EbonyLife Media, comprising EbonyLife Films and EbonyLife Studios, as well as the EbonyLife Creative Academy, a school aimed at accelerating filmmaking skills, and EbonyLife Place, Nigeria’s first luxury entertainment resort. She has produced several highest-grossing blockbusters: Fifty, The Wedding Party, Chief Daddy, The Royal Hibiscus Hotel and Your Excellency. She executive produced Òlòtūré, a Netflix original feature film that exposes the business of human trafficking in Nigeria.

Abudu will be presented with her award on the evening of March 22 at the Forum’s Awards Ceremony in Lille. In addition, she will be speaking during the Lille Dialogues (March 24) on a panel entitled “Investing In Talent: How To Drive New Narratives.”

Laurence Herszberg, founder and general director of Series Mania, said: “From the outset, our mission with the Woman in Series Award has been to increase the visibility of female producers and projects. With today being International Women’s Day, a global day initially launched in 1911 celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, I am honored to be making this wonderful announcement alongside European Women’s Audiovisual Network and Pour Les Femmes Dans Les Médias. Mo Abudu is truly a remarkable leader and visionary and was the perfect choice for Series Mania and to compliment the 2022 International Women’s Day campaign theme of #BreakTheBias.”

Abudu commented: “There is nothing more fulfilling and rewarding in life than to be recognized for the things that one loves to do. We all dream of lofty goals becoming a reality, then one day those dreams come true. I’m indeed pleased to see EbonyLife Studios working with a variety of partners all around the world to create and curate powerful content that tells African stories as well as deepening global storytelling around the Black experience. My thanks to all our partners for trusting us with this important task. And to the EbonyLife team, as I often say, we move with love.”

Laurence Bachman, co-president of the association Pour les Femmes Dans Les Médias, said: “Today, more than ever, we wish to salute, encourage and reward inspiring women in business and media, with a recognized and remarkable career in the audiovisual industry. Therefore, in partnership with the Series Mania Festival and the EWA association, PFDM association is launching the second edition of the PFDM/EWA/Series Mania award. Still underrepresented in the top leading functions (10 percent), this prize must value the place of women in the media industry and demonstrate that women must feel legitimate and dare. The highlight of talented international women leading media companies is essential to demonstrate that women are equally able to occupy top management positions. Celebrating those women is one of PFDM’s missions. We are thrilled to remit this prize to Mo Abudu, one of the most talented, inspirational and smart business and creative women of the media industry in Africa. It is instrumental for PFDM to reward high-profile women such as Mo, who has built her own road to success, which journey proves every day that she deserves a seat in the media leader’s world. We need to put the whole media industry’s attention toward those women and to show younger generations that female role models can empower the business.”

Jenni Koski, executive director of the European Women’s Audiovisual Network, said: “As a membership-based organization, we’re very proud of having created an international network that connects female audiovisual professionals from different countries in Europe and offers them enhancement opportunities. We continuously highlight the skills of our members and thrive to appreciate all other female leaders who achieve utmost success in their careers. We highly appreciate the exceptional entrepreneurial talent of Mo Abudu demonstrated throughout her professional path and deeply value her commitment to creating a positive narrative around Africa. Woman in Series Award naturally belongs to Mo. It is an example of one person’s ability to be a game-changer in the complex environment of the media industry that leads to empowerment of all other women who she will continuously inspire all around the world.”