Every week, The Culture Custodian grants you an all-access backstage pass into the lives of Nollywood rock stars. You get to learn about their fascinating background, the behind-the-scenes stories, and more. In this episode, we sit with an influential African filmmaker and a pacesetter in Nigerian Cinema —Kunle Afolayan. The son of late veteran actor Adeyemi Afolayan (Ade Love), Kunle Afolayan came into prominence as the producer and director of Irapada (2006), a film in which the three Nigerian languages are spoken and the modern world intersects with traditional values.
Afolayan followed it by releasing other big-budget films, such as The Figurine (2009), Phone Swap (2012), October 1 (2014), Mokalik (2019), Citation (2020), Swallow (2021) and Anikulapo (2022). Unlike anything that came before, The Figurine had an unprecedented 50-million-naira budget and crisp visual quality, with its storyline influenced by Mel Gibson’s Apocalypto. The film made it to big film festivals such as The London African Film Festival, New York African Film Festival, Tokyo African Film Festival and Rotterdam International Film Festival. It was also a huge box office success, as it became the highest grossing Nollywood film of all time until 2010 when it was displaced by Ije.
Although regarded as a producer and director, Kunle Afolayan’s acting career dates back to, at least, Tunde Kelani’s 1999 political drama Saworoide, where he plays the role of Aresejabata. In the film, fate smiles at Aresejabata as he falls in love with Araparegangan (Kabirat Kafidipe) who is daughter of his father’s killer, escapes being killed and eventually becomes the king of Jogbo against all odds.
Since then, Afolayan has starred in a number of films, including ones produced or directed by himself, among which are Agogo Eewo (2002), Irapada, The Figurine, Phone Swap, Dazzling Mirage (2014) and A Naija Christmas (2021).
With a career spanning over three decades, Kunle Afolayan has revolutionized Nollywood with his unique approach to filmmaking: his larger-than-life production budgets, film appearances at multiplexes, and adoption of digital technology. Ahead of the release of his films Ijogbon and Anikulapo: Rise of the Specter, we caught up with the New Nollywood torchbearer.
Last year, in an interview with HIP TV you said, “It’s one thing to learn how to make a film, it’s another to learn how to make a great film”. Considering this statement in light of the most outstanding productions in your oeuvre, such as The Figurine and October 1, what would you say is your unique style and how is this responsible for how much you have achieved in filmmaking in Africa?
It’s just the fact that I’ve been very consistent. I believe that as a storyteller, you first need to nurture an idea. Then, you consider how best you can integrate these ideas visually. When it comes to motion pictures, which is film, stories are foundational. But then, production value is key, and this includes great production design, camera work, sounds and actors. For me, I pay no less attention to any of these elements of filmmaking. Right from my first production Irapada, whenever I set out to do any project, I combine all these elements. Before any of my films are out, I try to figure out how people would take it. As a storyteller, I prepare my mind to receive different reactions from the audience. Being as original and organic as possible has also helped me this far.
The popular impression is that you started your acting career in Tunde Kelani’s 1999 political drama Saworoide, where you played the role of Aresejabata. You also reprised your role in the sequel Agogo Eewo. Could you lead us through your career as an actor?
In the early 90s, my father did a weekly television sitcom titled Nkan Mi on NTA Channel 7. I remember doing a waka pass role in which I was asked to buy something. Before then, in 1987, I was in my father’s film Taxi Driver. I was quite young back then, but I remember being involved in a robbery scene during which I decided to jump out through the molue window. Those two films were the foundation of my career. Then, I acted in Saworoide in 1998, before it came out in 1999. As a young man, I was always on the lookout for opportunities in modeling, TV commercials and film. That would lead to me meeting Tunde Kelani (TK). I auditioned for the role of Aresejabata in Saworoide and got it. Since then, I’ve always played more behind-the-camera roles than appearing before the camera. I’ve featured in a few other films, including The Figurine, October 1, Dazzling Mirage, and Ayinla, but my passion has always been to tell stories and make my own films. It’s been a journey, but right now I engage in many things within filmmaking, including being a producer, executive producer, director and, recently, production design. I did the production design for Swallow and Anikulapo. I also get involved in other production departments. Nonetheless, I’m still open towards acting. Anyone who wants to see me in their film should call me.
The hallmarks of what is considered New Nollywood today are big budget, international acceptance, appearance at multiplexes, advanced cinematography and unique storytelling. All of these are apparent in your productions, including your early breakout films Irapada and The Figurine, both of which are believed to have ushered in a new phase in the Nigerian Cinema. Could you lead us into the background for both productions which, interestingly, are of the supernatural thriller genre?
Before the arrival of digital technology, when you shoot on set, you don’t see what you have done until it’s sent out and brought back. At that time, when you film in Nigeria, you do your post-production in the UK or US. In the ’80s, I witnessed how production happened on the sets of Ogunde, Baba Sala and Ade Love. The actors would spend months on set. Actors were also better prepared with their lines before coming on set. However, with the growing popularity of digital technology, production quality is easily compromised. These days, actors don’t read their scripts as they often appear on set to start reading the scripts. For me, when I decided to adopt digital technology in filmmaking, I did so without compromising core production values. One of my personal production values is to be recognized as a Nollywood filmmaker without any ethnic label or stereotype. Initially, Irapada was meant to be a purely Yoruba film, but I had to alter it to my taste.
Recently, I did a short video about Mohbad, and there I mentioned that he acquired massive fame after he died, which is spiritual. As humans, when things happen, we tend to involve some spirituality, attributing good things to God and negative things to the Devil. In these situations, we are reluctant to think that the happenings could be the results of our own actions. This was what informed my second breakout film The Figurine, as I set out to play with people’s minds and gave the story an ambiguous ending.
Most of your films are tailored towards human nature while your protagonists are often complex beings with internal crises and obvious weaknesses. Why is this so and what do you take into consideration when creating your characters and making casting choices? Does this have anything to do with your belief system?
I’m of the school of thought that life has two sides: good and bad. Whether you’re good or bad, you reap your reward and extend it to your children and unborn generation. So, I try to be as realistic as possible, incorporating this knowledge in my films. I play with religion, beliefs and the natural human angle. All these inform my character constructs. I don’t do films just for entertainment. I do films so that people can see themselves in the characters and story. For instance, after the Mohbad incident, I resolved that I would do a film to reflect the decadence in society with regard to youth culture and substance abuse. I have already informed a writer to create a jumpy series around young people and college life. I think I owe the society the responsibility to use film as a tool to reflect, inform, and possibly correct.
In 2021, you co-wrote and directed Swallow, an adaptation of Sefi Atta’s novel of same title. There aren’t too many Nigerian films that are adapted from our written literature. Other honorable mentions are the Biyi Bandele directed films, Half of A Yellow Sun and Elesin Oba: The King’s Horseman, and then the Ishaya Bako-directed I Do Not Come To You By Chance. What makes the nature of adaptations special and sensitive?
Adaptations started way before now. Wole Soyinka did a film adaptation of his play Kongi’s Harvest. My father also did an adaptation of Omo Olokun Eshin by Adebayo Faleti. He titled it Ija Ominira, and it was his first film. The film was shot in 1978. About seven to ten years ago, TK and I talked about doing a remake of Ija Ominira. Adaptations in film are attempts to put texts in visuals. To get this done, however, the cooperation of the literary writer is needed. Some writers are particular about having certain parts of their books reflected on the screen. At the time I decided to do Swallow, I was on the lookout for ideas to pitch to Netflix. Soyinka’s The Lion and The Jewel was also one of the books I wanted to adapt, but that didn’t work. When I read Swallow, I connected deeply with the text because it is set in Ebute Metta where I grew up. When I wanted to film, I chose that same neighborhood where I grew up. The text was difficult to adapt because of its length and it contained the stories of three or four characters. In film, it was a challenge. Initially I wanted to make it a series so I could capture all the stories of the main characters, but Netflix wanted a film. So we had to narrow down to one or two main characters and follow their stories. Swallow remains one of the favorites amongst my films. I have a special attraction to the fact that it is set back in time. In 1985, as a young boy, I was always moving from one neighborhood to another. All of those memories featured in the book. When I was creating the film, I was specific because I could remember the details. I also put a lot into the production design for the film.
Filmmaking is not a rosy affair because it is just as mentally enervating as it is financially draining. So, knowing that you have had your own fair share of ups and downs, which one or two moments would you consider the most challenging times of your career?
For my first film, Irapada, I remember working with a co-producer on the project. Initially, the project was his original idea, but he could not continue the production entirely on his own and decided to involve me. At that time, I had just started Golden Effects. When he approached me, I agreed to join the production on the condition that the script would be rewritten because I wanted to do Nigerian films and be associated with multilingual productions, not Yoruba films. We made the film Irapada, with most of the scenes shot in the north. The film was selected at the London Film Festival. I received a letter of invitation to London. My co-producer also had a stake. We (members of the crew) sent in applications and a number of people, including my co-producer, were denied visas. He thought I was enjoying the dividends too much, and then he raised dust. He wanted us to sell the film and share the money. I had been led by my passion for filmmaking when I formed a partnership with him on the project, so there was no proper documentation. Eventually, we got someone to buy the film from us, and I bought it back from that person.
The second biggest career challenge I have faced so far is piracy. But with the advent of streaming platforms, piracy is less a concern. As a filmmaker if you are able to sell to streaming platforms, the return on investment is guaranteed. Film is harder than a lot of jobs in this world, but most people don’t know this until they come closer. For instance, for the Anikulapo series we just shot, our expenses for fuel and diesel in seven weeks was over 30 million naira. For feeding, we spent almost forty million naira. If filmmaking is your thing, there is always light at the end of the tunnel.
One of the exceptional things about you is your human management skills. This is evident in how you have worked with some of the industry’s resourceful hands, including Tunde Babalola who wrote Citation and October 1, Kemi Adesoye who wrote The Figurine and Phone Swap, Pat Nebo (of blessed memory) who was a production designer and art director on a number of your projects The Figure, Phone Swap, October 1, The Tribunal, etc., Adekunle “Nodash” Adejuyigbe the Director of Photography on Ijogbon and as well as a wide array of veteran actors and newbies. How do you manage the different departments and personalities under you as a filmmaker? Also, when there is a conflict of interests during production, how do you get it resolved?
It’s just God’s gift and wisdom. Sincerely, when it comes to human relations, I think it’s my thing. I have friends who would say shitty things about me. Yet whenever I saw them, I told them to their faces and we would still drink afterwards. It doesn’t change the fact that they are my friends. When it gets to the point that you are too toxic to my state of mind, then I part ways with you. I have people who have worked with me for up to ten years, and my group keeps expanding. We run about seven companies or more. In our academy, we have trained over 10,000 students in less than two years. KAP Village, which is still under construction, is set on 60 acres of land. In less than two years we have shot three films there. One of the reasons why things seem to work out for me is that it’s difficult to separate my work from personality. If you don’t like my work, you won’t like me.
You have always regarded Tunde Kelani as your mentor. Not to forget also, your father Adeyemi Afolayan (Ade Love) was an iconic thespian and actor. What other influences have shaped your career as an actor and a filmmaker?
The technicality of The Figurine was mainly inspired by Mel Gibson’s Apocalypto. I’ve been working on The Figurine before I did Irapada. The original title was The Shrine. It was big, and I wanted to shoot both in Nigeria and abroad. But then, Irapada came, and I jumped on it before returning to The Figurine. When I saw Apocalypto, I was thrilled by the fact that it was done in a strange or unpopular language. Mel Gibson is someone I respect a lot as a director, not as an actor. I see passion in him. Tarantino is also a filmmaker I like, and his film Inglourious Basterds particularly strikes me. As a filmmaker, you cannot be an island. You have to feed off different works. Tade Ogidan is another filmmaker I find inspiring.
Looking back at what you have achieved so far, it is amazing that you still have a lot of fire in you, as confirmed by your forthcoming cinematic rollouts, Ijogbon and Anikulapo: The Rise of the Sceptre. Again, you are reminded of your statement that Anikulapo would be bigger than Game of Thrones. Now, what still keeps driving you in spite of your achievements? What should viewers expect from you in those productions that are set to be out?
As regards what drives me, it’s the fact that I sleep, have an idea and proceed to bring it to life. I like to use film and other platforms of mine to encourage people, create jobs and inspire the younger generation. For instance, we have just completed a 40-room accommodation at KAP Village and Resorts, which has several interesting features, including a restaurant, hotel, clinic facilities, tour areas, a stable with over twenty horses, and a studio. It’s not just a film village but it’s also a great destination.
Ijogbon is different from my other productions. It’s unique because I worked with some teenagers on the project. It is inspired by the location, which is my mother’s hometown. Anikulapo series will start a new narrative and set a new standard. It’s a continuous project, as we are going to have sequels to the first season. This first one will be in six parts of over an hour per episode.
Recently, a Nollywood actress claimed that the Yoruba pioneered the Nigerian film industry. Considering how involved your father Ade Love was, in the days of transition from theater to television, what can you say about the roots of Nollywood?
One problem we have in Africa is the lack of proper documentation. Because there are no genuine records, people can easily re-write history. I’m not going to categorically say that a particular ethnic group started Nollywood. As a matter of fact, one of Tafawa Balewa’s children, who currently lectures in the university, is amongst the foremost filmmakers in Nigeria. He made films as far back as the 1960s and 1970s. But in history, people hardly give him his glory. Quite a number of films have been done in the north. When it comes to traveling theater, you can easily verify the likes of Hubert Ogunde and his peers. Yet I imagine that before then, there were people whose names were not documented. I’m not sure what tribe they are, and it really does not matter.
What would you love to be remembered for at the end of your illustrious career?
I have my films, and people will remember them even when I’m gone. I don’t care if any of my children decides to take over or not, but I have done my bit. My films are used in schools all over the world as reference, and people write a lot of theses about them. It means my name is documented. What is left is for me to live a fulfilled life, eat and relax. I just want people to remember me for the fact that I’m true to myself.