Thursday, 28th March 2024
To guardian.ng
Search
Breaking News:
Arts  

Afolayan tackles exploitation, moral decadence in citation

By Ransome Mgbeahuru
19 January 2020   |   3:36 am
After the successes and accolades recorded in 2019 with the movie, Mokalik, the actor, film producer and director, Kunle Afolayan, has begun shooting his new film,

After the successes and accolades recorded in 2019 with the movie, Mokalik, the actor, film producer and director, Kunle Afolayan, has begun shooting his new film, Citation.

The new movie explores moral decadence in the country’s educational sector. The unpalatable sex for a grade is the eye of the camera through which all the actions are seen.

The new movie is a college drama that dwells on the life of a female student, Moremi Oluwa, a fun-loving 21-year-old student on campus.

Incensed by the ill-treatment suffered in the hands of a don, Lucien N’Dyare, she drags him before the university’s Senate. The ensuing intrigues define Moremi’s word against that of the respected academic in a male-dominated environment.

Speaking on the movie, Afolayan said, “We all saw and read about the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) documentary on sex for a grade in some universities. Personally, I don’t think it was a coincidence that they did that.

“We started working on a similar subject in 2018, that’s months before the BBC’s documentary.”

Afolayan also hinted on the focus of the film, saying, “we have a well-scripted story with young talented actors and actresses featuring in this project. It’s a university drama with current dispensation surrounding a female postgraduate student who has found a way of dealing with the situation of sexual harassment from a male lecturer. We are about to make another magic. Citation is not about entertainment but value. It will create awareness on the different forms of violence against women and girls in public and private schools. The movie will encourage and embolden women to stand up against sexual violence, mistreatment, and abuse by male society.“

According to him, “we are partnering with Ford Foundation on this project, which has been designed to propel women to aspire to become successful leaders by providing a counter example to negative gender stereotypes.”

This film will be shot in three countries, Nigeria, Senegal and Cape Verde for five weeks.

Speaking on his involvement in the movie, veteran Nollywood actor, Sadiq Daba, who described Afolayan as his witch doctor said, “when we shot October 1, I was about dying because I was diagnosed with leukemia and I was pronounced dead in some newspapers, but this man (Afolayan) came with that belief in me and say, ‘now you are not sick, you are going to work with me. Just six weeks ago, I was diagnosed with lung disease, half of my lung is perforated, I’m sick and Kunle came again and said I will work with him, so, here I am, ready to work. He encouraged me to be part of this laudable project.”

On her part, UK-based fashion and lifestyle blogger, Temi Otedola, who is a debutant, said, “I feel excited and humbled to have been given this wonderful opportunity to be shooting alongside so many legends. The thematic structure of Citation addresses women issues in our society. It kicks against violence and sexual harassment. We are using this story to tell women that we hear their voices and we have come to fight for their right against any form of sexual harassment.”

The cast of the movie includes, veteran actress Joke Silvia, Haitian-French actor, and model Jimmy Jean-Lois, Ini Edo, Gabriel Afolayan, Daba, Yomi Fash-Lanso, Ghanaian actor Adejetey Anang, upcoming actress Bukunmi Oluwashina, French-Ivorian actor and screenwriter Raymond Reboul, theatre educator Toyin Bifarin and veteran actor Wole Olowomojuore, aka ‘Baba Gebu’.

The film is written by the company’s long-standing screenwriter, Tunde Babalola.

0 Comments