Kunle Afolayan is a Nigerian actor, producer and director. He is widely credited for elevating the quality of Nollywood movies through larger budgets, shooting on 35mm, releasing in cinemas, and improving cliché Nollywood storylines. At 49-years-old, Afolayan’s trajectory as a filmmaker, director, and actor, has set himself apart from the regular and after achieving all his aims in the industry, he has continued to improve on his legacies. In this interview with TUNRAYO ILESANMI, Afolayan opened up on his father, his career, legacy and how he’s been building a multi-million Naira film company and entertainment empire.
Who is Kunle Afolayan?
I’m me. I’m just a guy who loves life, would love to live a mark and enjoy life. In basic terms, that’s who I am. When I say live a mark, I want to be remembered for something and that I have achieved. So the rest of the years I have to live would be to continue living and be me.
What do you want to be remembered for two decades from now?
I have achieved what I want to be remembered for. I don’t have any further ambition. All I want to do is maintain my name. From the works that I have done and the impacts that I have made, as long as this current world exists, I have realised that my works can never be forgotten, what more can one ask for.
What other things do you hope to aspire to?
I’m not working for money. I always say to people that there were times when it was a real hustle but now, it’s more of fulfilling destiny. I still wake up early, I hardly even sleep, I work on projects. So when I say I don’t have further ambition, it doesn’t mean I’m not working, I just mean I’m not setting any goal. I have a school so I am building capacity and also building future filmmakers. I have children, I am also a parent and I am trying to teach them in the best possible way. I have an organisation where I put food on people’s tables and that would continue to grow. I also have a lot of people out there who don’t have one on one contact with me but they love me. I’ll always want to do things that will keep my name in people’s mouth and my reputation in people’s subconscious.
What inspires you to bring the cultural and indigenous side into your movies ?
I’m a Yoruba to start with and I grew up in a Yoruba home. My father was a filmmaker and I realised at some point that I’d rather be known for who I am and also I can sell who I am better than I can sell someone else’s culture. I also discovered there’s so much genuinity in you trying to be yourself. If you watch any of our films from Irapada, to Figurine, The CEO, October 1…all of them would always have cultural elements to them, I call them values and for me, value is so important in what we do especially if you are the type that wants to live a legacy. I always say to people that it’s difficult to separate myself from my work. If you don’t like my film, you probably would not like my ways. I am what I preach. I’d always say to people that if you don’t like what I represent, you won’t like me too. I know a lot of people that like their works and not their person but it would be difficult for anybody to separate me from my works except if you really have a problem. So for me, values are a key and you have them in different ramifications. There is the family value and also cultural value.
Did you orchestrate having actors in your family, was it planned?
I don’t think it was planned but I think it was natural. In Fela’s family, Seun, Femi, Made plays, even Yeni dances. They all play the same genres and they have other family members who still do stuff. In my family, my sister, Moji, featured in one of my father’s films before he passed on and she played my father’s daughter. We didn’t start until my father passed because he was completely against it at the time, he said there was no money there. He had money, he made money but it was a struggle but he felt it was not sustainable. I don’t think it was because there was no money, he had about 10 vehicles at some point but I think it was because they did not have a business plan. I’m not a typical business person. I’m being pushed by passion and the dream, not business ethics, sales projection. We have a KAP Hub where we have the cinema, restaurant, academy. It’s a one stop place where I see creative people and see different people’s creativity. It’s using my resources to create an enabling environment for me and other people. The KAP Village we have currently set up and building is going to engage more than 400 people as workers. The forty room hotel is almost complete, three films have been shot there already but we don’t even have a business plan. We build on the go, that’s a way of sustaining your craft and ensuring there would be continuity in the craft which is rare. I’m not doing all of these to enrich myself, it’s more of building my legacy.
Where does the funding for all of the projects come from as well as The KAP Hub, KAP Village too?
There’s money in the film industry. We started about 20 years ago. Golden Effects was registered in 2005, Golden Effects is the parent company. If you google Kunle Afolayan, what you’d first see would be Golden Effects pictures. Golden Effects did ‘Irapada,’ ‘Figurine,’ ‘October 1.’ KAP didn’t start until ‘The CEO.’ We didn’t get to a comfort zone until 2019 when we did ‘Citation’. Before then, it had always been bank loans, loans from individuals and friends, and when the movie makes money, we repay them and put money back into the business. We started acquiring equipment from our first movie Irapada in 2006, whatever money we make from past films, we would buy more equipment. When we were going to sort for a loan for the movie, The CEO from the Bank of industry, we used our equipment as equity. As we speak, we have a lot of equipment, which to a large extent is an investment. We also hire them out and also give to people who we think have potential to do stuff. When Netflix came, it became easier. We signed a 3 film deal with them , the first was Swallow, then Anikulapo and Ijogbon. Even before Ijogbon was made, we did Naija Christmas for Netflix too. From there, you could plan because there was a stable budget to make each movie. We were commissioned to make three films over three years and so we had a budget to work with. Our profit from all of these was what we invested back into the business. 2019 was when we bought the KAP Hub property. We took a loan from the federal government and it’s currently the only loan we have. But between then and now, everything we’ve done, we’ve used our own funds. Also, as a production company, we didn’t sign an exclusivity with any streaming platform, we can deal with anybody.
Do you think your father’s name paved the way for you in the movie industry?
I’d use the Kuti’s again. If you ask Femi that question some years back, he’d say yes because he grew up seeing Fela play, same as Seun too, even Made who is the third generation also saw his father play as well. Yes, my father’s name started the journey but I think I have surpassed what my father achieved. At some point, it’ll be Kunle the son on AdeLove but that changed a while back. I proved a point in Figurine which was in 2009, after how many years I have created a niche, brand and name for myself. Till I die, it would be impossible to separate my father’s name from my name but I don’t live in my father’s shadow.
How have you been able to maintain high standards in movie production and directing ?
I think it’s because I have always been very deliberate. I don’t believe when people say your current work should be as good as your last work, that is not my philosophy. For example, when I was shooting Anikulapo Series, I said I was done for the year but I’m starting a new movie again this week. And this is because I have a brain and a team. Anything that is synonymous or tied to substance gets my blood flowing. So I thought to myself, instead of just waiting, why not just shoot a film in November and I went to one of the stories we’ve been working on for some time and we reworked it. While doing pre production and reading, and all of that, I look for elements that are synonymous to Kunle Afolayan as a brand. What are the other values we can add that would give it the signature? Is it the casting, location, do we make it multilingual? I think I can only say thank you to God and the universe for the gift to be able to think because some of these things just come. For example, Ijogbon didn’t take me a long time to conceive the idea. I was intentional when I set out to shoot the movie. I wanted to also prove to young adults that they could be stars too. I am gifted, that’s the best way to put it.
Are you looking at working on some of your late father’s unfinished projects or projects that he wanted to work on but never did until his demise ?
My father died in 1996, he finished his bit and left. He doesn’t have any unfinished projects.
Did you go to any school to learn your craft?
I studied business administration and worked in the bank from 1999-2004 then left and went to New York Film Academy. I studied digital filmmaking and I came back to register Golden Effects in 2005. We made our first movie, Irapada in 2006.
What do you think could be done more differently to further push Nollywood to a global level ?
I think it’s one step at a time, and personally, I do not think we should be comparing ourselves to other countries. Four years ago, the story was different because it was a struggle distributing films in this country. We only had the option of cinema and dvd…dvd was very frustrating while the cinema, you’d have to go all the way. If you make 100k, you’d probably get like 20k at the end of the day but when streaming platforms came, it made its way easier. Apart from the fact that you make her revenue, your films also get to be seen all over the world. You sit in your house and then you get a call from Australia, that was not the case before. Streaming platforms became the game changer. For you to work on something and it’s widely seen all over the globe…whether it’s a good film or not, at least people would have the opportunity to see it. It can only get better. Few weeks ago, I watched The BlackBook which is currently the most viewed on Netflix. I think it’s the beginning of gradual things but we should stop comparing, there’s no point comparing. South Korea movies are not where they are now 10 years ago, they’ve been working, they did not just come from nowhere. I watch a lot of South Korean movies daily, Japanese anime as well as Italian movies too and it’s not necessarily because I’m a filmmaker but because I genuinely enjoy them. I think it’s going to get better here as well.
How do you get your inspiration for movies ?
I tie my inspiration to God and the universe. I only need to close my eyes and see things. I wake up, come to the office and I tell them this is how we are going to do things and this is how it will work. Few months after, it is done and that is why I have a team who believes in me. If I say to them, this is how it’s going to turn out…it’s exactly that way it will turn out. It’s spiritual.
Like the Anikulapo series, you’d faint so prepare yourself. It is a series of six episodes with each one over an hour. The movie is going to be a revolution and it would set a completely new standard for the series not just Nigeria but globally and this, I can beat my chest about.
How long does it take to shoot a movie?
Ijogbon for example took us about two weeks to film, pre-production took longer, and of course post production took months while principal photography took about 21 days. The next movie we are about to shoot would take like 18 days because it’s a contained story. Anikulapo took about two months to shoot, that’s excluding pre-production. We were all in Oyo state in the KAP Village. Pre-production can take about six months because that’s where the real work is.
