Ernest Napoleon, is a Russian–Tanzanian
film producer
A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, di ...
and actor.
Personal life
He was born in
Moscow, Russia to a Tanzanian father and a Russian mother. When he was 5 years of age, his family moved to Tanzania.
After living in
Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam (; from ar, دَار السَّلَام, Dâr es-Selâm, lit=Abode of Peace) or commonly known as Dar, is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over s ...
,
Tanzania for 14 years and
Los Angeles for 8 years, he currently relocated to
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
, Sweden.
Career
At the age of 3, he made his first acting in a Christmas play titled ''New Year's in the old Soviet Union''. While in Tanzania, he worked as a TV presenter for
EATV, the largest TV station in East Africa at the time. He also performed as a DJ artist at 'Club Billicanas', a prominent nightclub in Africa where he became a recording artist of
Bongo Flava, a music genre in East Africa. He performed there by the name of 'MC Napo'.
As a teen, Ernest moved to Los Angeles and obtained a computer science degree. Then he studied acting and writing for 7 years while in Los Angeles. With the help of his friends and colleagues, he made his maiden feature film ''
Going Bongo
''Going Bongo'' is a 2015 American-Tanzanian comedy drama film directed by Dean Matthew Ronalds and produced by Brian Ronalds. The film stars Ernest Napoleon and features Emanuela Galliussi, Nyokabi Gethaiga and Ashley Olds. It was filmed in ...
''.
The film is inspired by the life of a British surgeon, Dr Lewis Burger, in which Ernest played the titular role. His film is regarded as the first international film produced by a Tanzanian and the first ever East African film to be accepted by iTunes.
In 2017, he made the film ''
Kiumeni'' which was shot in Dar es Salaam. The film received critical acclaim and later won two awards at the
Zanzibar International Film Festival.
He is the founder of the production house, ''Enigma Pictures''. In 2017, he was appointed as the president of 'D Street Media Group', international production and distribution company.
He also produced the TV Series ''Mother City'' and third film ''Peponi''. During the same time, he co-produced the British film ''Let No Man Know'' which rotates around a true story about an African American slave.
Filmography
References
External links
*
The Swedish Actor Ernest Napoleon a Scandinavian Talent
{{DEFAULTSORT:Napoleon, Ernest
Living people
Tanzanian male film actors
Russian people of Tanzanian descent
Year of birth missing (living people)
Tanzanian expatriates in the United States
Tanzanian expatriates in Sweden