The Nigerian director of Swallow and A Naija Christmas unpacks his creative process.
In April, just before the rainy season kicked off in Nigeria, director Kunle Afolayan was world-building and orchestrating a symphony of moving parts to recreate an early Christmas. The rest of the planet would catch up with him eight months later, tucked in with their loved ones, streaming his yuletide gift — A Naija Christmas.
At 47, Afolayan is African filmmaking royalty. A former banker, Afolayan spent time at the New York Film Academy before pivoting into a new career as a production Swiss Army knife: actor, scriptwriter, director, and producer. Afolayan’s movies, including October 1,The Figurine,Phone Swap,The Tribunal,The CEO, and Mokalik, are essential viewing, inspired by local history and society.
In A Naija Christmas, the award-winning director faces his most challenging test, reaching deep into nostalgic childhood holiday memories to create Nigeria’s first Christmas special. A Naija Christmas is a romantic comedy telling the story of three sons whose ageing mother, played by the late icon Rachel Oniga, sets a cheeky plan in motion to get her sons to begin building families. The men find themselves looking for love over the Christmas holidays and making difficult decisions.
Kunle Afolayan
Along with A Naija Christmas, Afolayan partnered with Netflix to make three additional features. Swallow, the first of his Netflix films which debuted on the service in October, was a movie he wanted to make after falling in love with prize-winning Nigerian American novelist Sefi Atta’s 2010 historical fiction. Set in the 1980s, Swallow follows the lives of two struggling women (Tolani and Rose) caught up in the Lagos drug smuggling trade. Afolayan co-wrote the script with Atta and cast newcomer Eniola Akinbo as lead.
Here the director discusses his process of creating both A Naija Christmas and Swallow.
Joey Akan: You were in the middle of filming Swallow, yet you accepted A Naija Christmas, a project that required intricate world-building. Why?
Kunle Afolayan: I have never seen any local films that are tailored specifically, and shot, for Christmas. It was a bit of a challenge filming the Christmas period in April; all of those very significant things you see around that Christmas period, you have to create them. The fact that we had just a few months was also a bit of a challenge. I said to myself, “Okay. Why not? Let’s see.” It’s a film that also accommodates a lot of talent, a lot of people that I have longed to work with. This film was an opportunity to work with them.
On a personal level, did you connect with your love for Christmas?
KA: We all used to look forward to Christmas. But in this age and time, things have changed a little bit. I don’t have much bond to it. It’s just another holiday, and maybe a period to spend time with family, maybe travel with them. It’s not the Christmas that I experienced growing up. You won’t see people now killing chicken in the open anymore. And of course the carols that we used to do then, it’s not what they have now. That’s why with this film, I try to create the carols of that period. I really enjoyed the experience.
This is the film that people will want to watch every Christmas. That is also very important — that your films are not just films that people will watch and forget. I mean, every Nigerian Independence Day, I always look forward to watching October 1.
Rachel Oniga and Kunle Remi in A Naija Christmas
You’ve been on fire in 2021, also spending time making Swallow, a movie set in the 1980s. Can you walk me through how you created the 1980s in 2021?
KA: Costumes, props, sets, and makeup are some of the first things you have to consider. So seeing that we are going to be doing a lot of location shoots, how do you get all the modern cars off the road? How do you get people in modern clothing off the road? How do you get people with modern football jerseys out of your extras? As I read the book, I started buying some of the props that I knew would be difficult to get here, like all the landline phones. I’m a classic collector, so I have some. I also belong to a group of classic car owners, so I reached out to them and managed to get some cars. Nigeria is a country where — especially in the 21st century — we don’t archive anything. We don’t preserve. It causes challenges [with production], but it’s doable. [Period films are] done everywhere in the world so why should it be a problem here?
How was your experience co-writing the script for Swallow with novelist Sefi Atta?
KA: It was quite smooth. For me, I love the book so much that I really wanted to retain most of the dialogue. I felt that the book would need restructuring if we’re trying to adapt it into a script. So I allowed her to do her thing, and then after the first draft I stepped in. I didn’t want to lose the essence of why the book was written. The film was not just meant to entertain. It was also meant to inform and educate.
At this stage of your career, what’s most important to you?
KA: Filmmaking is like the blood that flows in my veins. If blood stops flowing, it means I’m dead. Film is not just a means of livelihood to me. And it’s not just a work of art. For me, it gets my blood pumping. Right now, I’m even more challenged. If the likes of Spielberg, Scorsese, and Tunde Kelani are still out there making films, then who am I to feel like I’ve achieved or arrived? It’s just the beginning.
Swallow