Encomium
AWARD winning film maker, Kunle Afolayan is towing a legendary lane. The producer of mind blowing movie, Figurine did not let movie enthusiasts down as he followed up with the much talked about block-buster flick, Phone Swap. The son of legendary film maker, Ade Love has set a standard in the Nigerian film industry. In this chat with ENCOMIUM Weekly, he talked about his movies, piracy, rejuvenating the Nigerian film industry and sundry issues.
Tell us a little about Phone Swap and how you got the idea for the story?
Phone Swap is a story that came through a brief that we got from a company that’s into phones and telecoms. They wanted us to come up with a story that will cut across age 15 to 35. They invited a couple of script writers from Nigeria. We had to contest for it and in the end our script was selected. Eventually, we couldn’t run with them and I decided to do the film myself.
Since it was planned for another company, how did you finance it?
After they backed out, of course, we had to look for a better way out. But for me since it was a bright movie that could take a lot of product placement and had a lot of potentials for multinationals, especially manufacturing companies to come in, we started sending out proposals to those that we think might be interested and at the end, we got IRS Airline, Glo, Blackberry, 7Up, Honeywell and a few others.
How did you select your characters?
Some of the characters, I had already penciled them down for consideration, and I met with them. It took me about a year to do the final casting. Then with the other roles, we had open auditions. A couple of the other sub-characters were picked from the audition.
Before shooting began, you lost one of your lead characters to death, how did you recover from that?
It set us back for a while, but a man has to do what he has to do. We had to look for a replacement and we got someone who also did great justice to the character. I am speaking of Chika Okpala also known as Zebrudaya.
How much did you spend on the movie?
It costs about N60 million.
How did you convince investors to invest in the movie?
It was difficult, it didn’t come easy because we needed to convince them for them to believe that we are putting their money into something that would yield fruit. For them, it’s all about figures, they want to know what mileage they are getting from partnering with you. It’s something we have done before, and some of them we have worked with especially IRS. So, it was not a hard sell, and they all saw the potentials. But by and large, the sponsorship and all the deals we got only subsidized the budget by 20 to 30 per cent, and the rest I had to raise myself.
Some people believe Figurine did not have much of a conclusive ending, what would you say about that?
Figurine is for deep minds, if you look at Irapada, some people feel there should be more and as a film maker I don’t believe in spoon-feeding people. I believe in ending my film in a way that would create debate, interaction, where people can actually have different views. Nigerians like to see more, after seeing a two-hour movie, what more do you really want to see? There might be a sequel in the future but I am not sure of that for now.
Using the time inbetween Irapada and Phone Swap as a yardstick, how would you say the Nigerian film industry has improved?
Some aspect of it has really slowed down, the number of films that usually come out has reduced and a lot of people are beginning to pay more attention to details which is good. So, I think the industry is improving. Jenifa went to the cinemas and it did well, quite a number of other films also did well. At least, we are now able to explore other distribution options aside just releasing on DVDs which I think is really good for the industry.
With Figurine you seemed to have conquered piracy to an extent, how did you achieve that?
I didn’t conquer it, because there is a pirated copy of the film out there, though it’s not the same version as the one we released but there’s something out there. Some people out there would still buy the original, if it’s a film they want to keep in their library, nobody will want to keep a pirated film because it doesn’t give the best quality, it’s not even the finished film. But piracy is something that we all need to come together as one body and fight. We are hoping and believing that government will also come to our aid.
What would you say are the factors limiting the Nigerian film industry?
Infrastructural problem is one major thing, no power in this country, no electricity and that’s really affecting all the sectors aside entertainment. You need power to do everything. Also, we need some sort of platform where film makers can get grants because here we do everything ourselves. The film makers are the ones that will produce, market, promote, it’s too cumbersome. Outside the country there are bodies that handle all other areas then the film makers just concentrate on what they know how to do bests. Raising funds is a challenge, but majorly infrastructural issues is a limiting factor. Until all these things are put in place in the country, it will continue to be like this.
Some of your colleagues went on a protest last week, do you think that will solve anything?
It could because that’s how it’s done all over the world. People need to come out and show their anger because that’s the only way government can hear the voice of the people. When we come out, because we are all affected, whichever way they want to see it. But from what I gathered, I guess the timing wasn’t good. But I believe that the purpose will bring out something positive but it’s the best way to go if you want to be heard.
Acting for you is more of a family thing, how would you say your younger ones are doing?
I believe everybody is doing great, everybody is relevant. Aremu just released The Score, Gabriel is starting a music career with his acting. It’s all well.
Who are the directors you look up to?
Tunde Kelani is my mentor, I love Mel Gibson, Steven Speilberg, Spike Lee, these are people who have tried acting at some point and they have combined it with film making and they are my role models.
Have you abandoned acting?
I am still acting. If you role I would act (laughs).
What is your advice for aspiring film makers?
They should get trained, stay focused, watch a lot of films, relate with established film makers, those they want to emulate. If they can afford to go to school, its better.
OLUSOLA ADARANIJO
This story was first published in Encomium Weekly on Tuesday, April 3, 2012
