Ernest Napoleon - Movies, Photos & Biography

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African rising actor/writer/producer Ernest Napoleon was born in Moscow, Russia to a Tanzanian father and a Russian mother.

His first acting experience was in a Christmas play (New Year's in the old Soviet Union) at the young age of 3.

His family moved to Tanzanian when he was 5 years old. Ernest was a very active child with elaborate plans his mother coined as "Napoleon plans" after Napoleon Bonaparte, a French military and political leader.

In Tanzania, Ernest did everything from working as a TV presenter for the largest TV station in East Africa at the time (EATV), to DJ-ing at one of the prominent nightclubs in Africa (Club Billicanas) to becoming a recording artist of a famous music genre in East Africa (Bongo Flava), going by the name of MC Napo.

As a teen, Ernest moved to Los Angeles to pursue a computer science degree and a career in films. In Los Angeles, he devoted his time to acting and writing classes for a period of 7 years. After helping friends and colleagues make their own short films and TV pilots, Ernest embarked on a journey to make his very own first feature film called Going Bongo.

In the film he plays the lead character, Dr. Berger, who happily lands a job at the prestigious Beverly Hills medical centre in Los Angeles and is eager to impress his new boss. After attending a Gala arranged by his superiors, he "mistakenly" volunteers to work in Africa for a month at an under-resourced hospital. Leaving his fiancé and the life he knows behind, the American Doctor heads out to Tanzania to follow through with his promise.

Going Bongo is now the first international film made by a Tanzanian and the first ever East African film to be accepted by iTunes. Ernest produced, co-wrote and acted in the film. This African Star is sure not to be missed with many more exciting projects in the pipeline and his keen to expand his knowledge to fellow African filmmakers and actors.

Kiumeni (Ernest own film) is set and shot in Dar es Salaam and won two awards at the Zanzibar International Film Festival 2017. This African-made comedy juxtaposes poverty and wealth as the path of an affluent young man, crosses that of a girl from a poor neighborhood. The young man falls head over heels in love with the girl to the extent that he wants her to move in with him and as tradition requires he is obliged to visit her family. However, he has to fit in his new environment and there are lots of cultural shocks that he has to come to terms with.

At the moment, he is also juggling multiple projects including producing a UK/US based film called "Let No Man Know". The film is a true tale of Tom Molineaux that evolves from the unparalleled brutality of a southern American tobacco plantation to the aristocratic decadence of 19th century London. The story portrays the rise and subsequent fall of Tom Molineaux, a former slave and would be a contender for the English bare-knuckle crown. The script is written by Ray Nicholas. A stunt coordinator for Bourne Identity, Dark Knight, Titanic etc.

Ernest Napoleon Photos

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Filmography

Actor

Type

Year

Kiwembe TV Movie2023Brian

Peponi Feature Film2021Dullah

Kiumeni Feature Film2017Gue

Going Bongo Feature Film2015Dr.Lewis Burger

Writer

Peponi Feature Film2021

Kiumeni Feature Film2017

Going Bongo Feature Film2015

Producer

Peponi Feature Film2021

Kiumeni Feature Film2017

Going Bongo Feature Film2015

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