Asurf Oluseyi is a filmmaker who refuses to play it safe. Best known for his breakout directorial debut Hakkunde (2017) and the crowd-pleasing Kasanova (2019), his work straddles the commercial and the conscious, often spotlighting underrepresented narratives through a human cinematic lens. His latest project, 3 Cold Dishes, a Pan-African thriller tackling sex trafficking, premiered its teaser to a crowd of 80,000 at Stade de France, a feat for Nigerian cinema.
Culture Custodian caught up with Asurf to discuss the scale of his ambition, his craft, and how 3 Cold Dishes might just reshape the future of African storytelling on a global stage.
3 Cold Dishes marks Burna Boy’s debut as an executive producer. How did this collaboration come to life?
It came from a long-standing personal and professional relationship. I worked closely with Burna Boy during his 2018 U.S. tour and Coachella performance in 2019, building trust and camaraderie with his team. Although I turned down a later opportunity to tour with them due to my commitment to developing 3 Cold Dishes, our relationship remained strong. In 2022, after reconnecting with Burna’s mother and manager during a film event, we still stayed in touch. When a major production crisis hit during filming in 2023, I reached out, and Burna Boy’s Spaceship Collective came on board as executive producers, elevating the project significantly with their support and influence.
The teaser at Stade de France, in front of 80,000 fans, is an unprecedented rollout for a Nigerian film. What inspired that strategy, and how do you think it can reshape how African cinema can be introduced to global audiences?
3 Cold Dishes is a Pan-African film, French and English, so showcasing the teaser at Stade de France made perfect sense. It was a rare opportunity to tap into a massive French-speaking audience, and Burna’s mom was immediately on board. Even though it wasn’t a public release, it felt important to seize that moment.
Music is Africa’s biggest export, so why not leverage that power to elevate our films? Collaborating with Burna was intentional, we’re all in the same entertainment space. If more artists back film projects, the industry can grow massively. Guys like Davido are already talking about entering film. If this becomes a blueprint, it’s a win for everyone. Artists like Burna have the resources to build studios or film villages, they just need to see the value. That’s where filmmakers come in: pitch to them, bring them in. They’re ready to listen.
You’ve directed acclaimed films like Hakkunde (Netflix) and Kasanova (Amazon Prime). In what ways does 3 Cold Dishes reflect your evolution as a filmmaker, and what new creative elements did you explore with this project?
For me, 3 Cold Dishes is all about scale. My debut, Hakkunde, had a modest $100k budget but went far, touring over 20 Nigerian universities, and has been on Netflix for five years. That film taught me what was possible.
Kasanova was a director-for-hire project, but 3 Cold Dishes is truly mine. I wanted to top my last work, a bigger production, a bigger story. I traveled across Africa with Hakkunde during festival runs and this showed me how much love Nollywood gets, especially in West Africa. So instead of dubbing Nigerian films in French, I thought: why not create a story that lives authentically in both languages and cultures?
This time, I also explored wider partnerships with France, the Netherlands, the Ivory Coast, and Nigeria. Raising funds for film here is tough, so expanding our co-producers was key. It’s a step up in every way, ambition, reach, and storytelling.
3 Cold Dishes confronts the brutal reality of sex trafficking. What were the key challenges in telling such a harrowing story?
This was easily the toughest story I’ve ever had to tell. Sex trafficking is a massive, organized industry, almost like the drug trade, and during our two years of research, we saw just how deep it goes. The stories were heartbreaking. People taking what should be two-day journeys and ending up trapped for six months or even a year, moved from country to country, locked up in ‘connection houses.’
At some point, we had to smuggle ourselves into certain places for research, even during the pandemic. My crew hated me for it but they respected the story more because they truly saw what we were fighting to highlight.
Logistics were a beast, with 80 to 100 crew members across three countries in seven weeks. And beyond that, we had to get it right culturally and linguistically. We worked with local producers and consultants to make sure there was no misrepresentation between English and French-speaking audiences. It was emotionally and physically draining, but I kept telling myself, if this film can push conversation or policy in the right direction, then it’s all worth it.
The buzz around the teaser at Stade de France was massive. How are you planning to sustain that momentum in the lead-up to the film’s full release, and what kind of impact are you hoping the film will have?
We’ve got a massive rollout plan. I wish I could say more, but honestly, if my team would just let go of my hand and say, “Alright, reveal it,” we have enough content to drop something new every day from now till the film’s release, even if that’s January 2026.
This rollout isn’t just promo, it’s about taking the audience on a journey. We shot this over two years, and there’s so much behind-the-scenes, real-life grit, and craft to share. I believe when people see how this film came together, they’ll be even more drawn to the story. So yeah, we’re more than ready to keep the momentum going. I just can’t wait for the world to experience everything we’ve built.
Beyond its entertainment value, what conversations are you hoping this film will ignite about sex trafficking?
My goal and my dream is that it sparks the right conversation around trafficking and gets the right agencies to make the derived policy policies to protect girls and also tighten our borders. I believe it can spark the right conversation to reduce this reality across African borders.
