Nollywood actress and filmmaker, Funke Akindele, has seemingly reacted to comments made by fellow filmmaker Kunle Afolayan on the pressures of promoting cinema movies, sharing a series of pointed messages on her Instagram story.
In a series of posts shared on Instagram on Saturday, the actress, whose movie Behind the Scenes recently hit two billion at the box office, dismissed suggestions that she was responsible for challenges faced by others in the industry.
In one of the posts, she wrote, “I’m not the one hindering your progress. Ka rin ka po, yiye ni n ye ni.”
She also encouraged creatives to focus on their individual journeys rather than comparing themselves to others.
“If you can’t beat them or join them, create your own path. No allow jealousy burn you. The sky is so big for everybody to fly. Eyin Werey jojo!!!”
In another post, Akindele advised filmmakers to explore different approaches to marketing their work instead of complaining about existing trends.
“Go ahead and create alternative promotion or marketing strategie for promoting your business, or hire a company to handle it.
“You can do it! The opportunities are endless, and everyone has their own path. I’m focused on mine, and I have faith in God’s plan for me.”
Her reaction followed recent remarks by Afolayan, who said he would only fully return to cinema releases if filmmakers were no longer required to engage in exhausting promotional activities, including frequent social media dances, to sell their movies.
The filmmaker made the comments while speaking at the Lagos Business of Film Summit, where he reflected on the changing nature of film promotion and its impact on creatives.
“For cinema, I’m one of the people who started the cinema gig, and dancing before anybody. I danced in London too, not just locally,” Afolayan said.
He recalled that the process took a heavy toll on him early in his career.
“In 2006, I did all the runs, and it was exhausting. I want to make a film if you can guarantee I don’t have to dance to sell that film. We need to come up with other strategies. How do we sell without exhausting ourselves?”
Afolayan also referenced Akindele while explaining why the current promotional demands do not suit him. “I don’t know how the likes of Funke Akindele and others are doing it — creating skits every day, changing costumes all the time. I can’t do it,” he said.
He added that several of his stories have been in development for over four years and that he remains open to releasing them under more sustainable promotional models.
The filmmaker has previously raised similar concerns. Speaking at the watch party of his Netflix series Aníkúlápó: The Ghouls Awaken, Afolayan questioned the financial returns of cinema success.
“I don’t want two billion streams at the cinemas and end up receiving ten million naira,” he said.
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