At the Series Mania Festival, 30 African delegates, including producers, distributors, broadcasters, and other industry professionals, gathered in Lille, France, to foster new partnerships and discover emerging talent. Among these delegates were ten Nigerian representatives: Mimdoo Bartel, Chioma Ude, Zulumoke Oyioba, Daniel Olaoluwa, Enyi Omeruah, Blessing Uzzi, Moses Babatope, Onome Ifeanyi, Chioma Onyenwe, and Kunle Afolayan.
In our exclusive Series Mania Interviews, we spoke with several Nigerian delegates to explore the state of Nollywood on the global stage, the perception of Nollywood worldwide, the cultural exportation of Nigerian cinema,andNollywood's relationship with Artificial Intelligence, among other related topics.
Our first conversation is with Kunle Afolayan, one of the prominent producers in modern Nollywood. Known for films such as “Anikulapo,” “Swallow,” “The Figurine,” and “Citation,” Kunle shares his insights on the relationship between Nollywood and AI, as well as the dynamics of streaming platforms in Nigeria.
Hello Kunle. How do you think Nollywood's presence at global events like Series Mania influences Nollywood's perception and how events like this can cement our position on the international stage?
The first advantage of coming out or being involved in film festivals,series festivals, and other film and television conferencesis to kind of break the gap [between industries and markets]. First of all, the content space itself, like film TV,is not something that is specifically tied to a tribe or a language or a region.It's something that really doesn't have language.It's a work of art, but that gets monetised.And a forum like this–I mean, I've been to several festivals all around the world–allows us to meet with other colleagues and people of like mind,ranging from the creatives to the people handling the business side of thingslike the distributors, the exhibitors, and the sales agents.
Do you think festivals like this change or make people understand or appreciate Nollywoodmore when they see that these kinds of movies are being produced in Nigeria?
First of all, how many Nigerians have been attending festivals?I think we, at home, focus more on commercials.People would rather talk about box office hits.And once they make that noise and they do the PR and that's done, nobody gets to talk about the film anymore.But if you have a film that has some sort of commercial appeal,but at the same time, it's artsy enough to go through festivals,then it stands a better chance of being documented in the world journal.People, even international media, get to write about it.These are things that generations to come will be able to sourceif they're trying to read anything about you,either locally or internationally.
You mentioned something I really like about a film not being tied to a language or region. But, one of the things that is often attributed to movies is cultural exportation. Nollywood has really tried in this regard. But our culture can be somewhat dicey for foreigners to understand. How do we maintain that authenticity in our cultural productions for global audiences?
I don't think culture is difficult to understand. Look at what Korea is doing now. A lot of people globally watch more Korean series than Hollywood series now. These films and series are done in Korean. Korean culture is completely different from Western culture. As a matter of fact, our own culture is similar to Asian culture generally because our cultures are very much tied to values–family values and our own beliefs. These are things that the Koreans are selling. A Korean lady just came to me now and asked if I'm interested in a zombie film. You know, we have a strong, valuable culture that, if well put together in audiovisual and put out there to the world, the world would take and embrace it.
You know, one of the things a film or motion picture is meant to do is to document and also to inform. So when we watch, we learn about so many things about the American and the American flag through American films. A lot of African countries learn about Nigeria and Igwe and all of that through our films. A typical Kenyan believes every Nigerian is Igbo. And it's because in the films they watch, they hear Igwe, Igwe, Igwe. So that's the power of cinema. We can also use that to our advantage. Look at Anikulapo. The film is done in Yoruba, 100%. But then it traveled the world, and it was the number one most watched film globally. How do you explain that? It's simply because film does not have a language. It's the content, it's the people, it's the costume, it's the story, it's the props, and it's the dialogue.
Considering the fluctuations with streaming platforms in Nigeria, with some filmmakers now majorly releasing movies on YouTube, yourself included, what would happen to Nollywood in the next five to ten years?
Honestly, it's difficult to say.I've been trying to have this conversation with people in the last two months,and nobody seems to know where we're heading, what's about to happen, or what the solution is.Moses and I, when I got here, that was the same thing [we discussed].What is the way forward? We don't know.
One of the reasons I'm here is because I want to pitch one of those projects to potential co-producers. Maybe if I do it as a co-production,at least I can get it distributed in different territories.So I think that's what will happen.For Nigeria, some people are more about that immediate revenue that they make as soon as a film is released in the cinema, but that's not what I'm after. The longevity of a film is determined by how good the film is.So nobody can say specifically.I think what we'll be doing is continuing the traditional medium of distribution,which we've had before Netflix came. Hopefully, other ones will surface. I know Apple and the rest of them are also trying to do it,but I think that's the best anybody can do right now.
As we all know, the world is tilting towards AI. I'm wondering if this technological advancement has any shape on Nollywood and distributions across Africa
Recently, they announced that they made the first AI film in Nigeria. I haven't seen it, so I'm not sure what. But look, you can't avoid technology in this age and time. I have a project that has to do with featuring my father.This is something I've been working on for like 10 years. And there wasn't AI then, and I've always been thinking, how do I [do it]? I could use AI now. I think it's got its advantages. All those things they say about it taking your job or not,it will take people's jobs. It should even take people's jobs because there are a lot of lazy people these days. If you can use technology to your advantage, regardless of which, then why not? As long as it gives results.
If I had my way,I wouldn't do VFX and green screen in my film. I don't like it. I like to do real location, real action, real everything.But you can't achieve much these days without those things.
Do you believe that funding contributes to the challenges Nollywood faces, resulting in filmmakers producing not-so-good movies?
No, it's not funding.The ones that get funding, what kind of movie do they make? That's the side of things that I can't forgive. Who am I, anyway? But then, when you have the right funding, and then you misuse it. That's why I'm always saying to people that when you give people free money and they don't have any stake, they'll mismanage the fund, play with the money and won't do what they're supposed to do.
I've always had to take loans to make films.Even from my first film. Free money is good, and subsidy is good,but you should give it to the right people.
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Séries Mania Forum is the industry arm of the Séries Mania festival, which has established itself as the premier international television series event. The Forum provides a platform for producers, distributors, broadcasters and other industry professionals to develop new partnerships and discover emerging talent.
