AS the Nigerian motion picture industry, otherwise called Nollywood, moves towards renaissance, there are occasional look backs to the pioneers of the industry who, though held sway through the travelling theatre model, have remained relevant despite today’s digital technology.
One of these legendary filmmakers is the late Adeyemi Josiah Afolayan, popularly called Ade Love, an astute filmmaker whose style of story-telling attracted a wide range of fan base, who cherished how romance and music were woven into folktales, political satires, family centric and other forms of drama that appealed to the young and the young at heart.
It will be 20 years this December 30, when the legendary filmmaker passed on, and in celebration of his memory, his offspring, most of who are in the entertainment industry are putting together a week of activities that will not only bring veteran film personalities from the days of the Yoruba travelling theatre under one roof, but spark new debate on the old and new ways of storytelling.
At the forefront of the event is Kunle Afolayan, who is regarded as the poster boy of today’s Nigerian film industry called Nollywood.
The young Afolayan revealed that the event, in honour of their late father, will host distinguished guests in the society, actors, and other film industry stakeholders on Thursday, December 15, at the National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos.
The Nation gathered that a documentary on the life and times of the legend is in the making, featuring some of his contemporaries like Lere Paimo, aka Eda Onile Ola, Mr. Jimoh Aliu, Mr. Olu Omojola, Moremi Duro Ladipo, Chief Eddie Ugbomah, Dr. Ola Balogun, Professor Adebayo Faleti, Kareem Adepoju, aka Baba Wande, Wole Olowo Moju Ore, aka Baba Gebu, Chief Elebuibon and Mr. Victor Ashaolu among several others.
“In the spirit and essence of the celebration of his works, there will be an official premiere of Ade Love’s film, Kadara (Destiny) after 36 years of its initial release,” Kunle Afolayan revealed.
Also in the line-up for what they call the Ade Love Week, which is intended to make this Yuletide season more memorable, young Afolayan disclosed that “there will be daily screenings of ‘Kadara’, ‘Taxi Driver’ 1 and 2 at the National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos, the Lagos Airport Hotel, Ikeja, Silverbird Cinemas, Film House, Genesis Deluxe, Kada, Viva and other cinemas across the country.”
Described as an uncompromising titan of theatre and Nigerian cinema, Ade Love’s movies provided a homely alternative in the Southwest, to the then popular Indian films in the country. A fan of Indian films himself, the filmmaker remixed some Indian movie songs in Yoruba language, giving them some creative and communicative appeal.
Born in Igbomina, Kwara State in 1940, the actor, dramatist, film director and producer obtained a Diploma in Secretarial Studies and Performing Arts from at the University of Ibadan. He was a force to reckon with among his contemporaries in the film industry, making newspaper headlines between 1976 and 1996 when he passed on. He is today, remembered for about eight films, some of them, classics, that earned him the celebrity toga. They include ‘Ajani Ogun’ (1976), ‘Ija Ominira’ (1978), ‘Taxi Driver’ (1983) ‘Eyin Oku’ (1992), ‘Kadara’ (1980).
Like King Sunny Ade (K.S.A), Ade Love had a stint with versatile entertainer, Moses Olaiya, during his early days as a stage performer.
A visionary entertainer, Ade Love first saw the opportunities in filmmaking when he acted in Dr. Ola Balogun’s film, ‘Ajani Ogun’ in 1976, also featuring Duro Ladipo, as a lead actor. Two years after, he shot his first film, ‘Ija Ominira’, directed by Ola Balogun. Indeed, it was Ade Love’s incursion into filmmaking that inspired his former master, Baba Sala to up his act as a stage performer to a filmmaker.
Ade Love who started filmmaking before Hubert Ogunde and Baba Sala recorded the highest number of celluloid films in Yoruba. He was also the most travelled Yoruba filmmaker whose films represented Nigeria at major film festivals in the world.
A very busy filmmaker, Ade Love, at the peak of his career had embraced commercial filmmaking and festival routing which kept him away from his family most of the times, traveling around Africa and beyond. Some of those festivals that featured his films include Rotterdam Film Festival and the BFI London Film Festival.
Apart from his great works, Ade Love’s legacy has also been kept aglow by some of his children who now embrace different genres of entertainment such as acting, music and filmmaking. Among them is Kunle, an award-winning filmmaker, Gabriel, an actor and singer, Moji, a notable actress and Aremu, an actor and producer. The late Afolayan’s sister, Toyin has also been relevant on the scene.
Ade Love passed on December 30, 1996 as a Christian, after suffering stroke twice.
