Nigeria, drama, 2009, 120min. Dir: Kunle Afolayan. Western Japan Premiere!
Synopsis & UPAF Memo:
The Figurine is a story of two friends and a girl. All down on their luck, their lives change when one of them discovers ‘Araromire’ a mysterious figurine in an abandoned shrine which, according to legend bestows seven years of good luck. But no one told them about the next seven years…
Have you heard of Nollywood? Cinema in Nigeria has grown since the 1990s and become an employment-producing industry. The Figurine occupies a legendary space among Nollywood fans. It’s the first film Nigerians are truly proud of as their own that is as good as any other great cinema of the world. We cannot but totally agree. This quality psycho-thriller is cleverly made full of twists and turns till the very end, while incorporating the local legend and oral storytelling tradition.
Celebrated African cinema auteurs existed since the continent’s independence in the 60s (i.e. Ousmane Sembène), but they were made with European capital and only distributed in the West. Nollywood began in the late 90s with a cheap VHS camera in an effort to start projecting their own images for fellow Nigerians who kept consuming Hollywood, Bollywood, and Kung Fu films. Nigeria’s average life expectancy is 52 years and still many make less than $1 a day. With frequent power outages and miniscule budget and turnaround time, Nollywood had been known for cheap quality production using poor villages as sets until The Figurine came. Overcoming those obstacles with passion and craft, it’s a reminder of what good story-telling means. Nigeria’s film industry, no matter how problematic many things have been, continues to give hope and pride to its people, and its independent existence and spirit is highly political. We are honored to introduce its legend, The Figurine, to Japan.
Notes for young viewers: It is a psycho-thriller so not suited for young children. There are scenes with violence and sex (not loaded but suggestive). It seems OK for children above 12 who enjoy horror or psycho-thriller, but parents should make a decision for children under 15.
Bio:
KUNLE AFOLAYAN
Producer/Actor/Director, Adekunle Ayodeji Afolayan was born on the 30th of September, 1975. He is the son of the highly regarded Adeyemi Afolayan (Ade Love), a forward thinking theatre artist who went from leading a travelling theatre troupe to co-pioneering the celluloid film format, initially introduced by Dr Ola Balogun in the 1970s.
Trained as a business administrator and with a career in banking, the culmination of his deepest sensibilities, talent and fate got him cast as ARESEJABATA in Tunde Kelani’s award winning film Saworoide in 1998, alongside notable veterans like Adebayo Faleti, Akinwunmi Isola, Kola Oyewo, Kunle Bamtefa and a host of others, earning him remarkable acclaim for his portrayal of the trials of an estranged and endangered Yoruba prince.
His subsequent engagement within the dichotomy of Yoruba films and its English counterpart gave him a conscious sense of the possibility to produce a celebratory work within which a fusion of the polyphony of our cultures may come out as a human melody that can be understood and marvelled at by the world.
With this intuitive leap and self-belief, Kunle Afolayan enrolled in 2005 at the New York Film Academy, after which he made his first film, Irapada (Redemption). Irapada brought with it a formative bend, stepping outside the established video format that questioned our artistic foundations as inherently creative people.
The works of Kunle Afolayan through his production company Golden Effects have earned international recognition and relevance. He appeared in 2012 on the CNN program Marketplace Africa, in a feature titled Is Nollywood Embracing Quality? where he discussed the emerging crop of Nigerian filmmakers who set out to produce films of genuine production quality and value and the unsurprising commercial gains within this new wave. He also appeared on the BBC where he discussed similar transformational attitudes and his own ambitions. His movies, The Figurine, Phoneswap, the notable music video he shot with Dr Victor Olaiya and Tuface Idibia, the soon to be released documentary filmed for the State of Osun and his latest film OCTOBER 1, are outright examples of an exhibition of astuteness and focus in terms of skill, contribution towards cultural infrastructure and longevity.
THE FIGURINE narrates a story of two friends ‘who find a mystical sculpture in an abandoned shrine in a forest while serving at a National Youth Service Corps camp. One of friends decides to take the artwork home. Unbeknownst to them, the sculpture is from the goddess ‘Araromire’, who bestows seven years of good luck on anyone who encounters it, but an alternative ill, within the seven years that follow’.
Both the man and his works have since received numerous awards and unprecedented experiences. Among which are:
THE PAN AFRICAN FILM FESTIVAL in Los Angeles, where he received an HONOURABLE MENTION for The Figurine and was commended by the renowned African playwright and novelist Ngugi wa Thiong’o, who described him as an excellent actor and director. In Ngugi’s words, he described The Figurine as ‘outstanding in the conception of the narrative, its execution in terms of camerawork, editing, acting, and it’s all done in Nigeria. It’s a truly African film, it made us, Njeeri and I, feel tall, well, proud’.
Kunle Afolayan went on to win the BEST DIRECTOR at the BEST OF NOLLYWOOD AWARD 2010, while The Figurine won the BEST FILM at the AFRICA MOVIE ACADEMY AWARDS.
Other awards:
BEST DIRECTOR 5TH ANNUAL N.E.A AWARDS
BEST DIRECTOR NIGERIA ENTERTAINMENT AWARDS NY
BEST DIRECTOR CITY PEOPLE AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE 2010
BEST PRODUCER CITY PEOPLE AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE 2010
BEST FILM B.O.N AWARDS 2010
BEST FILM CITY PEOPLE ENTERTAINMENT AWARDS 2010
BEST FILMMAKER – NIGERIA HEART OF AFRICA AWARDS
Major Festivals:
FESPACO Film Festival, Bukina Faso- 2010
Rotterdam International Film Festival, Netherlands – 2010
Berlinale Film Festival, Berlin Germany – 2010
Tarifa International Film Festival, Spain – 2010
New York African Film Festival, NY – 2010
Amakula Kampala Film Festival – 2010
CATEGORY AWARDING BODY
BEST FILM AFRICA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
BEST ACTOR AFRICA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
BEST DIRECTOR OCTOBER 1, AMVCA AWARDS
BEST MOVIE OCTOBER 1, AMVCA AWARDS
BEST WRITER OCTOBER 1, AMVCA AWARDS
BEST ART DIRECTOR OCTOBER 1, AMVCA AWARDS
BEST MAKE UP OCTOBER 1, AMVCA AWARDS
BEST LIGHTING DESIGNER, OCTOBER 1, AMVCA AWARDS
BEST SOUND EDITOR OCTOBER 1, AMVCA AWARDS
BEST COSTUME OCTOBER 1, AMVCA AWARDS
BEST ACTRESS OCTOBER 1, AMVCA
BEST DIRECTOR 5TH ANNUAL N.E.A AWARDS
BEST DIRECTOR NIGERIA ENTERTAINMENT AWARDS NY
BEST DIRECTOR CITY PEOPLE AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE 2010
BEST PRODUCER CITY PEOPLE AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE 2010
BEST FILM B.O.N AWARDS 2010
BEST FILM PHONE SWAP, NOLLYWOOD MOVIES AWARDS
BEST FILM CITY PEOPLE ENTERTAINMENT AWARDS 2010
BEST FILMMAKER – NIGERIA HEART OF AFRICA AWARDS
BEST FILM (FIGURINE) AFRICA MOVIES ACADEMY AWARD
BEST VISUAL EFFECT (FIGURINE) AFRICA MOVIES ACADEMY AWARD
Kunle Afolayan’s Phoneswap, the first and only Nigerian film to premiere at the first edition of the Cinema Africa International Film Festival in Tokyo, Japan is now a reference point for discussing and analysing Nigerian economic indices in Japan.
Kunle Afolayan was on the Lagos State Nollywood Upgrade delegation to India in company of the Executive Governor of the State, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (S.A.N) in 2013.
He’s currently working towards the release of his new film OCTOBER 1, a story set against the backdrop of Nigeria’s independence in 1960.