Rogan Productions aims to forge close ties with South African drama and documentary makers with the opening of a production office in Johannesburg.
Rogan SA is the first international development and production hub for the indie, which has offices in London and Glasgow.
The move follows the release of its Channel 4 series Free Nelson Mandela [main picture] and the delivery of Original Sin: My Son the Killer, a true crime doc for African streaming platform Showmax.
Husband-and-wife team James and Selena Rogan, who set up the company in 2013, now become its co-chief executives. Previously, Soleta was managing director and James was creative director.
James, who is half South African, said the country “has always inspired and captivated us with its deep creativity and extraordinary stories”.
He added: “Setting up a base here has been a long-held ambition for us. Whether in drama or documentary, there are world class filmmakers in South Africa that we are looking forward to working with, and new platforms that are showcasing the brilliance and the potential of African stories.
“Rogan SA connects us to a storytelling tradition that is hugely powerful and it is an exciting next step on our creative and commercial journey.”
Soleta said: “With our broader footprint, Rogan is afforded the scope to deliver more stories in more formats, to more audiences. This has been an aim we have been actively working towards for the past couple of years, with the idea first being ruminated long before that.
“Opening in a territory that holds a personal connection is a real moment of celebration for us, and we look forward to delivering shows from our widened slate in the future.”
Rogan is also behind multi-award-winning Netflix doc Grenfell: Uncovered, HBO Max’s Boom Box: Beats and Betrayal and BBC3’s The Trials of Pa Salieu.
In April, it signalled its ambition to scale up its drama output with the appointment of Buccaneer Media executive Anna Burns as its first head of scripted development.
