Kunle Afolayan Shares Insights on African Film Industry’s Future and Personal Funding Struggles

Award-winning filmmaker Kunle Afolayan recently offered valuable advice to young actors about seizing emerging opportunities in the film industry. In an interview with the podcast Limitless Africa, Afolayan discussed the promising future of African films on streaming platforms over the next five years.

Highlighting the expanding presence of streaming services like Netflix and Prime Video, Afolayan noted the increasing interest from Western investors in African storytelling. He emphasized that Africa’s unique narratives and perspectives have attracted significant attention and investment.

“Well, I think it’s going to get better. One, Netflix is not the only one operating in Nigeria. Now you have Amazon [Prime Video], and you have a lot of people trying to come in. Why are they coming? It’s because there’s something here. And it means it’s because there’s something in Africa. There’s something on the continent,” he said.

Afolayan also addressed the importance of creative freedom for African filmmakers. He pointed out that many Francophone African films, although funded by European countries, were often inaccessible to local audiences due to creative control issues.

“If we have some of these guys who are investors, but at the same time, who allow you to stay creative and do your thing without necessarily controlling how you tell your narrative, then I think it’s a great thing for Nigeria and for Africa. Unlike before, when most of the Francophone films were funded by Europe, France, Germany, Belgium and all. And most of these films, yeah, great production value, but even the citizens and indigenes of all of those countries actually don’t get to see the films,” he said.

Reflecting on his journey, Afolayan revealed the lengths he went to finance his films before securing a three-film deal with Netflix in 2021. He shared that he once took a bank loan to fund his projects, a move generally discouraged in the industry.

“But then if you go all out, use your money. People don’t know. I used my money to make a film. I’ve taken a bank loan, which is actually against the ethics of film funding. But I’ve always looked for every possible way to fund film before this Netflix intervention and partnership came. So I think in the next five years, it will be safe to say that there will be more young filmmakers doing great things,” he stated.

Afolayan urged aspiring filmmakers to build a strong work ethic and leverage available resources. He emphasized the importance of convincing others of the value in their work and starting with smaller projects to gain experience and credibility.

“You need a championing course, and this championing means that you need to convince people who listen to you and see sense and value in whatever it is you’re preaching, and once you’re able to do that, people will follow. You have to, of course, put in a lot yourself and that’s why I will say, start with the short film,” he advised.