Africell has officially launched its hotly anticipated new documentary, Lobito-Bound, at an invitation-only premiere in Washington, D.C.
Filmed in the summer of 2024, Lobito-Bound follows British explorer Dwayne Fields on an epic 4,000km expedition across the length of the Lobito Corridor, Africa’s new geopolitical frontier and a region on the brink of profound economic change. Lobito-Bound starts in Dar Es Salaam and ends in Lobito, with Mr Fields tracing the route of the Lobito Corridor on a journey encompassing the TAZARA Railway in Tanzania, the ‘copper belt’ of Zambia and DRC, and the interior and coast of Angola. Lobito-Bound examines the history and politics of the Lobito Corridor – which, at its simplest, is a network of rail, road and digital infrastructure that is benefitting from enhanced American investment – while also teasing out its implications for the ordinary people living within its extended catchment area.
Over a hundred and fifty senior African and U.S. officials, policymakers, diplomats and journalists gathered on 21 May 2025 at Washington, D.C.’s Long View Gallery for the exclusive industry preview of Lobito-Bound, hosted in collaboration with Foreign Policy magazine. The event was timed to capitalise on rapidly growing interest in the Lobito Corridor at political, ;policy and scholarly levels. The project is, unusually, the subject of bipartisan agreement in Washington, D.C. and has been emerging as a cornerstone of U.S. strategy in Africa, which is increasingly focused on a new type of ‘commercial diplomacy’ rather than legacy models of aid and humanitarian assistance.
“Africell commissioned Lobito-Bound for two reasons,” explained Africell’s group communications director Sam Williams in welcoming remarks. “First, we are part of the Lobito Corridor. Digital connectivity is a core theme and our work as a telco in DRC and Angola is directly advancing the Lobito Corridor agenda. Second, the Lobito Corridor is a fantastic story that hasn’t yet been told properly. Making Lobito-Bound was an opportunity for Africell to record history in the making and to illuminate a concept that is already having a transformational impact in two of our operating markets.”
Lobito-Bound was produced for Africell by Grammar Productions and Longerdays Productions, companies with expertise in making complex adventure documentaries. It was assisted by the U.S. State Department, INEOS Automotive and The HALO Trust. The film featured meetings and interviews with representatives of organisations including KoBold Metals Africa, Ivanhoe Mines, and the Lobito Atlantic Railway.
Speakers at the premiere included Ambassador Troy Fitrell, the senior Africa-focused official in the U.S. State Department. In a fireside chat with Andrew Kamau, a senior scholar at Columbia University’s Center for Energy Policy, Ambassador Fitrell emphasised American commitment to the Lobito Corridor and acknowledged the value of Lobito-Bound as a tool for raising awareness and building support for it. Following the screening, Foreign Policy journalist Christina Lu moderated a panel including Dwayne Fields, Angola’s transport minister Ricardo Viegas de Abreu, and Ambassador J. Peter Pham – an Africell board member and former U.S. Special Envoy to Africa’s Great Lakes region.
Lobito-Bound will be released to a worldwide public audience in the second half of 2025, with deals currently being negotiated with several major international streaming platforms.
To find out more about Lobito-Bound and to receive updates on its public release, visit www.lobitobound.com and follow Africell Group on LinkedIn.
