Kunle Afolayan facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kunle Afolayan
Afolayan at the 2014 Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards
Born	(1975-09-30) 30 September 1975 (age 49) Ebute Metta, Lagos, Lagos State, Nigeria
Nationality	Nigerian
Alma mater	New York Film Academy
Occupation	Actor Director Producer
Years active	1999-Present
Known for	Saworoide, Agogo Ewo, Phone Swap, 1 October
Spouse(s)	Tolu Afolayan ​ ​ (m. 2007; div. 2019)​
Children	4
Parent(s)	Adeyemi Josiah Afolayan (Ade Love - father)
Relatives	Moji Afolayan (sister) Gabriel Afolayan (brother) Aremu Afolayan (brother) Anu Afolayan (brother)

Kunle Afolayan (born 30 September 1975) is a famous Nigerian actor, producer, and film director. He is known for making Nollywood movies better. He uses bigger budgets, shoots films on special cameras, and releases them in movie theaters. He also works to make movie stories more interesting and less predictable.

Kunle Afolayan has directed many popular films. Some of these include Aníkúlápó, The Figurine, Phone Swap, October 1, and Citation. He is also the CEO of Golden Effects Pictures, a Nigerian film company he started in 2005.

About Kunle Afolayan

Early Life and Family

Kunle Afolayan comes from the Igbomina-Yoruba group in Kwara State, Nigeria. His father, Ade Love, was a well-known theater and film director. His mother, Adeola, also worked in theater.

Kunle has four siblings, and they are all involved in the film industry. His brothers, Gabriel Afolayan and Aremu Afolayan, are actors. His sister, Moji Afolayan, is also an actress. Another brother, Anu Afolayan, composes music for films.

Education and Learning

Kunle Afolayan went to Nigerian Model Primary School in Lagos. For his high school education, he attended Federal Government College, Ijanikin, also in Lagos. He later earned a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Lagos.

In 2005, he decided to learn more about filmmaking. He got a special diploma in digital filmmaking from the New York Film Academy in the United States.

Kunle Afolayan's Film Career

Starting Out in Film (1998–2010)

Kunle Afolayan began his film journey as an actor. His first role was in Tunde Kelani's movie Saworoide, released in 1999. Even though he wanted to be a director, Tunde Kelani advised him to start as an actor first.

From 1998 to 2004, Kunle acted in several Nollywood films. During this time, he also worked at a bank. After a few years, he left his banking job to focus completely on his film career. He then went to the New York Film Academy in 2005 to study filmmaking.

In 2006, Kunle Afolayan directed his first movie, Irapada. This was a thriller with a supernatural theme. The film won the Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Film in an African Language. Irapada is seen as one of the first films of the "New Nigerian Cinema." This movement aimed to make movies with better quality and more interesting stories, meant to be shown in cinemas, not just sold on video.

Kunle's second film, The Figurine (2010), was a huge success. It was loved by critics and made a lot of money. This film made Kunle Afolayan one of the most famous filmmakers in Nollywood. The Figurine won five awards at the 6th Africa Movie Academy Awards, including Best Picture. This movie helped establish Kunle as a leading Nigerian director who wanted to make films that could compete globally.

Growing Success and Netflix Partnership (2011–Present)

Kunle Afolayan's next film was Phone Swap (2012). He wanted to make a comedy to show he could direct different types of movies. Phone Swap was nominated for four awards at the 8th Africa Movie Academy Awards. It won the award for Achievement in Production Design.

In 2014, Kunle had another big hit with October 1. This was a thriller set in Nigeria in 1960, just before the country became independent. The film won 16 major African movie awards. It was also one of the highest-earning Nigerian films when it was released. In 2015, Netflix bought the rights to stream October 1 online. This made it one of the first Nollywood films available on Netflix.

Kunle Afolayan then directed The Bridge (2017). This was a romantic drama starring Nigerian singer Chidinma. The film explored how class and tribe can affect young couples in Nigeria. In the same year, he released the comedy Omugwo. This movie showed the Igbo tradition of postpartum care, where mothers help their daughters after childbirth. The film mixed comedy with social commentary about cultural differences.

In 2021, Kunle released Citation on Netflix. This drama was based on the real-life issue of serious problems in Nigerian schools. It starred Temi Otedola as a student and Jimmy Jean-Louis as a professor. The film showed an important issue from a West African point of view. Citation was the fourth Afolayan film that Netflix streamed. Later that year, Netflix announced they would work even more with Kunle. They asked him to make three new original movies for them.

Swallow, based on a book by Sefi Atta, was the first Netflix release in October 2021. This drama, set in Lagos in the 1980s, followed a young woman facing difficult choices. Netflix then released Aníkúlápó, an epic Nigerian fantasy, in September 2022. Kunle described it as a "Game of Thrones recreated in Nigeria." Just eleven days after its release, it became the most-watched non-English Netflix original film. In 2023, it received the most nominations at the 2023 Africa Magic Viewers' Choice Awards. The sequel, Anikulapo: Rise of the Spectre, was released as a six-episode series on March 1, 2024. It was a top-10 Netflix release in Nigeria for 10 weeks. In October 2024, it was announced that Netflix would make a second season.

Ijogbon, the third film from Kunle's Netflix deal, came out in October 2023. This coming-of-age drama was about four friends in rural Nigeria who find a bag of valuable treasure. Within two weeks, the film was in the Global Top 10 on Netflix and ranked in the Top 10 in sixteen countries.

In November 2024, Kunle Afolayan's psychological thriller Recall premiered at the Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF). This film, like some of his others, explores African spirituality. It tells the story of a couple whose lives change when the wife loses her memory. The film was released in Nigerian cinemas on April 4, 2025.

Even though he works with Netflix, Kunle Afolayan also believes the Nigerian film industry should have its own ways to share movies. In early 2025, he made several of his films available for free on his YouTube channel, KAPStream. These films, including The Figurine, Phone Swap, and The CEO, had finished their agreements with Netflix. He explained that this was a way to let more people see the films, especially since there were not many cinemas in Africa when they first came out. He wants filmmakers to make sure their movies stay available for future generations.

Personal Life

Kunle Afolayan married Tolu Afolayan in 2007. They divorced in 2019. They have four children together. Kunle identifies as a Freethinker.

Filmography

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Kunle Afolayan para niños

• List of Yoruba people
• List of Nigerian film producers