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Kunle Afolayan () (born 30 September, 1975) is a Nigerian actor, producer, and director.[2] He is credited for elevating the quality of Nollywood movies through larger budgets, shooting on 35mm, releasing in cinemas, and improving cliché Nollywood storylines.[3] After starting his film career as an actor in the 1999 political drama Saworoide, Afolayan made his directorial debut in 2006 with Irapada, a Nigerian supernatural thriller, which won the Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Film in an African Language.[4] His subsequent directing credits include The Figurine,[5] Phone Swap, October 1, and Citation.[6]
Kunle Afolayan | |
|---|---|
 Afolayan at the 2014 Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards | |
| Born | 30 September 1975[1] Ebute Metta, Lagos, Lagos State, Nigeria |
| Nationality | Nigerian |
| Alma mater | New York Film Academy |
| Occupations | |
| Years active | 1999-Present |
| Known for | Saworoide, Agogo Ewo, Phone Swap, 1 October |
| Spouse |
Tolu Afolayan
(m. 2007; div. 2019) |
| Children | 4 |
| Parent | Adeyemi Josiah Afolayan (Ade Love - father) |
| Relatives | Moji Afolayan (sister) Gabriel Afolayan (brother) Aremu Afolayan (brother) Anu Afolayan (brother) |
October 1 was the winner of 16 major African movie awards in 2015 and was the second highest grossing Nigerian film at the time of its release, a feat Afolayan was to repeat two years later with The CEO. In 2021, the director signed a three-picture deal with Netflix.[7] Swallow, the screen adaption of Sefi Atta's book by the same name was the first to be released in October 2021, followed by Aníkúlápó, an epic Nigerian fantasy released in September 2022. Afolayan has described the work as a "Game of Thrones recreated in Nigeria but with a better representation of our culture”.[8] Eleven days after its release, it was the #1 most-watched non-English Netflix original film.[9]
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Afolayan is of Igbomina-Yoruba descent and is from Kwara State.[10][11][12] He is the son of theatre and film director Ade Love. He majored in economics and started out working in a bank while doing some casual acting before deciding to move into full-time filmmaking and taking a course at the New York Film Academy.[12] Since 2005, he has been active in the Nigerian film industry. He has made several films, including The Figurine: Araromire, which was in the Yoruba and English languages, and Phone Swap, which featured Wale Ojo, Joke Silva, Nse Ikpe Etim and Chika Okpala. The Figurine won five major awards in the African Film Academy.[11]
Afolayan appeared at the Subversive Film Festival in 2011, where he represented the Nigerian film industry[13] with his colleague Zeb Ejiro.[11] In May 2013, Phone Swap premiered in France at the first edition of NollywoodWeek Paris and won the Public Choice Award.[14]
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Afolayan married Tolu Afolayan in 2007, and they have four children.[15] Their marriage ended in 2019.[16] He identifies as a Freethinker.[17]
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Afolayan is the CEO of Golden Effects Pictures, a Nigerian film and production company incorporated in 2005.[18][19][20] The company's feature films include Irapada, The Figurine, Phone Swap,[21] 1 October, Roti, Omugwo, The Tribunal, The CEO and Mokalik.[18]
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Kunle Afolayan struck a deal with Netflix in 2021 to make three feature films. The first included a screen adaptation of Sefi Atta's book Swallow. He and the writer penned the script, which reportedly has a major twist from the original story. The movie revolves around a woman who begins to consider going into drug trafficking in Lagos in the mid-'80s.[22] The second was the 2022 film Anikulapo, the most nominated film at the 2023 Africa Magic Viewers' Choice Awards, with 16 nods.[23] The third film, Ijogbon, is a coming-of-age adventure film that tells the story of four teenagers from a remote village in the south-west area of Nigeria.[24]
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 | This section's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia. (December 2023) |
On 6 April, 2015, Afolayan posted a tweet which might have implied that Igbos were the majority group behind copyright infringement in Nigeria.[25] The backlash from fans led to an apology from Afolayan and an explanation that he was concerned about the piracy of his films, and most especially threats on the potential release of unlicensed copies of October 1, his latest film at the time.[26][27] Shortly after the controversy, on 13 April 2015 pirated copies of October 1 hit the market.[28]
In an interview with Cable magazine,[29] Afolayan was quoted as saying he does not watch a lot of Nigerian movies; ″Truth be told, I hardly watch them because I am keen on watching movies that will challenge me and change my orientation about certain things.″ and this led to him receiving several heated responses from fans and some colleagues in the Nigerian film industry.[30] A few days after, Afolayan explained that this quote had been taken out its context.[31]
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| Year | Film | Role | Notes | Ref | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Actor | Director | Producer | Writer | ||||
| 1999 | Saworoide | Yes | |||||
| 2002 | Agogo Eewo | Yes | |||||
| 2005 | Ti Ala Ba Ku | Yes | |||||
| 2006 | Irapada | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | [32] | |
| Èjiwòrò | Yes | ||||||
| 2007 | Onitemi | Yes | |||||
| 2009 | The Figurine | Yes | Yes | [33] | |||
| Farayola | Yes | ||||||
| 2012 | Phone Swap | Yes | Yes | Yes | [21] | ||
| 2014 | Dazzling Mirage | Yes | [34] | ||||
| 1 October | Yes | Yes | Yes | [28] | |||
| 2016 | The CEO | Yes | Yes | [18] | |||
| 2017 | The Bridge | Yes | Yes | [35] | |||
| Omugwo | Yes | Yes | [36] | ||||
| 2018 | Crazy People | Yes | |||||
| 2019 | Mokalik | Yes | Yes | [37] | |||
| Diamonds in the Sky | Yes | [38] | |||||
| 2020 | Citation | Yes | [39][40] | ||||
| 2021 | Ayinla | Yes | [41] | ||||
| Swallow | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | [42] | ||
| A Naija Christmas | Yes | [43] | |||||
| 2022 | Anikulapo | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||
| 2023 | Ijogbon [44] | yes | |||||
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| Year | Award | Category | Film | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Best of Nollywood Awards | Director of the Year | Diamond in the Sky | Nominated | [38] |
| 2021 | Net Honours | Most Searched Actor | Nominated | [45] | |
| 2023 | Africa Magic Viewers' Choice Awards | Best Indigenous Language – Yoruba | Anikulapo | Won | [46] |
| Best Movie West Africa | Nominated | ||||
| Best Overall Movie | Won | ||||
| Best Director | Nominated |
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