I’ve spent over N200m on October 1 – Afolayan

A new movie by Kunle Afolayan is set to usher in a new dimension in local film production, JAYNE AUGOYE writes

In less than two months, Kunle Afolayan’s psychological thriller, entitled October 1, will formally open in cinemas across Nigeria. Hardly able to contain his excitement, Afolayan can’t wait to share this work of art, which was written by Tunde Babalola, with the rest of the world.

The movie has a predominantly Nigerian cast and crew, including Hollywood actors, Nick Rhys, Lawrence Stubbings and David Reese, who played the part of colonial masters in Nigeria’s pre-independence era.

He said the movie’s budget was initially pegged at $2m and currently stands at over N200m. It tells the story of a police officer from Northern Nigeria who is posted to Akote, a remote town in Western Nigeria, to investigate the frequent female murder cases in the community and to solve the mystery before the Nigerian flag is raised on October 1, Nigeria’s Independence Day.

Shot on locations in Lagos and Ilara-Mokin in Ondo State for a period of over 40 days after four months on preproduction, the movie evokes memories of pre-colonial Nigeria. Afolayan succeeds in weaving the elements of violence and humour to achieve a captivating and suspense-filled narrative.

The film also dwells on some debatable and sensitive subjects, such as the molestation of the male-child by an orthodox priest, the age-long rivalry among the three major tribes in the country, as well as the intriguing politics played out under the colonial administration.

All the traditional heroes that fought for Nigeria’s independence are also featured in the film. Beyond this, the most striking feature of the movie is the serial killing which was perfectly executed by the protagonist – fresh faced, Demola Adedoyin, who cuts his teeth in his first lead role in a full length feature film.

In the film, Adedoyin holds his own firmly alongside seasoned actor, Sadiq Daba. Constantly, he engages the latter in a game of wits.

At a press screening held at the Filmhouse Surulere, in Lagos, on Tuesday, Afolayan shared some of the highlights of the production with the audience.

He said, “This film was shot to educate and entertain. The take-away, for me, is the last line by one of the colonialists in the film who said, ‘Good or bad it is your country now’. It is a film that will bring us together, in spite our differences. Although the film is fictional, people in their 50s and above can relate a lot to the themes like the national anthem, the school setting, the police and status quo and the general subject.”

Narrating how he came up with the storyline, the screenwriter, Babalola, said he wanted to show how independence affected the tribes in Nigeria and also weave a drama around it.

“I wanted to create a story that would be a series of killings taking place and set against the backdrop of independence in Nigeria. It was originally titled, Dust because it was set in a very dusty town. The story depicted how independence affected the tribes in Nigeria and I wove a drama around it. It is a metaphor of Nigeria and the many discriminatory things that happened to the land,” he said.

The killings in the film are symbolic of the rape of the country’s natural resources by the white men. It is full of metaphors and many stories woven around the amalgamation of the Northern and Southern Protectorates of Nigeria up to independence.

However, convinced that he hopes to break box office records, Afolyan said, “Film house will have 20 screens in October and aims at grossing a million dollars at the cinema. People will start believing in indigenous projects and films and we are also looking at potential distributions outside of Nigeria.

“Post production cost more than 20 million naira. I tried to maximise the potential we have in Nigeria the only thing we did overseas was colour correction and grading. We refurbished many cars in the movie to suite the era with which it was set. The town is full of electric wires and billboards and masts, they were all removed in post-production. We have spent so much because there is so much potential in this country to recoup all that is being spent.”