•As Filmhouse takes up theatrical distribution
As the end credit rolled for Kunle Afolayan’s new flick, October 1, an outburst of cheers engulfed the theatre, at the Filmhouse Cinemas, Surulere, Lagos, venue of the press screening, last Tuesday.
For more than two hours, guests were engrossed in the much-anticipated movie, which provides a measure of comic relief, within a serious theme that portrays the colonial masters as evil-genius.
From reactionary murmur, to occasional giggles and roaring outbursts by the viewers, the film appeared to be meeting the expectations of the filmmaker, as an educative and entertaining work.
The event was the fourth in a series of private screenings which the filmmaker intends to use to drum support for the film, before it is released to the public in October.
“We are certain that from these private screenings, we will be able to make some money also. This goes to subsidise our budget before we go public. Because once the film is out, it’s out,” said Afolayan, apparently referring to the menace of piracy.
Afolayan, who revealed that Terra Kulture is chief supporter of the exclusive screenings, said the movie has gulped more than N200million so far, and that there was need for him to recoup his investment, if he must continue to make quality films locally.
Giving the breakdown, he said: “We shot on RED cameras. All those forest scenes were shot using two pieces of 12K HMI light; to rent one 12k costs between N80, 000 to N100, 000 per day, and we shot for about 60 days. We had more than 30 lights on that shoot altogether. We had about 100 cast and crew, living and feeding on the production. Post-production costs more than N20 million, which is why the film looks good. We tried to maximise the potentials that we have in-house. By this, the only thing we did outside the country was colour correction and grading. We used two RED cameras, each one costing over N100, 000 a day. Also, look at the costumes for that period, look at the cars. We had to refurbish some of those cars so as to create that period and put them to use. The CDI, the PFX (Production effects) etc. in that town are electric poles, electric wires, transformers and billboards, MTN, Airtel and Globacom masts all over the place. Did you see anything like that in the film? They were all removed at post-production, and PFX costs fortunes. If I start breaking it down, we will be here all day,” he said, smiling.
The budget for Afolayan’s film is the biggest so far in the country, only next to Half of a Yellow Sun, which got more corporate funding in Nigeria and support from the British Film Institute (BFI), London. The filmmaker, who has been described in some quarters as the posterboy of Nigerian cinema said he believed that the nation’s movie industry is evolving.
“The reason why we have spent so much is that we believe strongly that there is so much potential for this kind of film. How many viewers do we really need to be able to recoup that money? It’s not a lot, and the good thing is that now, you have Filmhouse, whose cinema chain seems to be expanding every day. And they already said to me that by the time we are releasing it in October, they will be having like 20 screens, compared to the six that we had when we released The Figurine and Phone Swap.”
Afolayan revealed that Filmhouse’s projection for the film is $1million. “But all that $1million is not coming to me o,” he noted, with an air of sarcasm. “Because by the time Filmhouse takes their percentage, and by the time all the taxes are deducted, what will come to us will be small. But at least, people will start believing in indigenous film projects.”
He said although he is yet to get from the Project Act-Nollywood grant, it will also subsidise his budget if he eventually becomes a beneficiary. “But we will continue to work. I believe strongly in film, I believe strongly is good production value, I believe in Nigerian talents and that is why we have put everything in this film.”
A psychological thriller, October 1 pictures September 1960, with Nigeria on the verge of independence from British colonial rule. It tells the story of a northern Nigeria Police detective, Dan Waziri (Sadiq Daba), who is urgently dispatched by the colonial government to the trading post town of Akote in the Western Region of Nigeria, to solve a series of female murders that have struck horror in the hearts and minds of the local community. On getting to Akote, more murders are committed, and with local tension high and volatile, Waziri has a race on his hands to solve the case before even more local women are killed. Matters take a turn for the worse, however, when Waziri discovers that his prime suspect is none other than the highly influential, university-educated son of the King of Akote, Prince Aderopo (Ademola Adedoyin). Intelligent, good-looking, charismatic, witty and daring, the prince proves to be a most complicated adversary for Waziri. Set against the backdrop of the national celebratory mood of the impending independence, Waziri and Prince Aderopo indulge in a game of cat and mouse as they try to outwit each other… leading to the climatic end in which the life of a popular local female teacher and village belle, Tawa (Kehinde Bankole), is held in the balance. Waziri has to race against the clock to capture the prince, save Tawa and solve the crime before the British flag is lowered and the Nigerian flag is raised on October 1, Nigeria’s Independence Day.
“This film is a great film in so many ways. It tells different stories in just about two hours and it brings everything together very well. Really, there is no film without little errors here and there, but I think this is a very great film. The significant thing is that, it successfully brings together different generations of artistes and it does it so well. I have also noticed that a lot of people who participate in this film are Nigerians. I was looking out for the Director of Photography (DOP) and Screenplay writer, and I could see they are all Nigerians. I’m just standing up to say congratulations,” said Niran Adedokun, a guest at the event.
“One thing that I find interesting is the fact that you touched on a subject such as sexual molestation, especially as it concerns the male child,” noted another guest. “This is something that, as a society, many people are not ready to talk about. As the writer, how do you feel delving into a subject many people are not ready to talk about?”
Responding, Babalola said: “As a writer, I want to delve into subjects that people don’t want to talk about. I don’t want to write things that people want to say. I would rather write about things that are controversial, and that which will get people talking for weeks.”
Paedophile, violent rape and murder have been used by the writer to depict some of the negative effects of the colonial experience.
“The rape of those boys is a well-known fact. These things occurred. Whether or not they happen in Nigeria, we can’t be certain. But we know they are quite worldwide and it’s a very open subject to deal with. I had to do research into the stories of people that were so abused when they were young. I wanted to make sure that when people see the film, they would be able to relate to it in a very sensitive manner. And I think Kunle did a pretty good job without putting it right there in your face. We don’t have to be in the room to know what’s going on, and he rightly portrayed the pain and anguish of these people,” Babalola said.
