Kunle Afolayan reacts to talks of few female cinematographers in film industry: “It’s like work for men”

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Nigerian actor and filmmaker Kunle Afolayan recently had a chat with Legit.ng where he touched on some industry topics
The movie star reacted to discussions about few female cinematographers in the industry, among other things
Kunle Afolayan also shared his thoughts about American actors being used to tell African stories

Nigerian actor, producer and director Kunle Afolayan recently spoke with Legit.ng at the launch of the third edition of Reel Circle: Directing Cinematography Workshop.

The event took place in Lagos on November 12, 2024, and the veteran filmmaker shared his thoughts on some industry topics, including the fact that there are very few female cinematographers in the business.

Kunle Afolayan speaks on career as a filmmaker, female cinematographers and more.

According to Kunle Afolayan, cinematography requires a lot of physical strength because it involves lifting cameras and equipment. He noted that women who want to slay won’t be able to carry out the task, and most female cinematographers are tomboys because of the agility needed.

In his words:

“Cinematography is like a man’s work because they carry things, they lift things, they move like men. You have to be agile. But if you want to slay with long nails, you can’t do that. That is why most of the female cinematographers you see are tomboys or people who really have the energy to do so. Anything in film, apart from makeup and all those things, anything technical like cinematography, lighting, all those things require a lot of energy.”

Speaking further, Kunle Afolayan said that cinematography is only one aspect of filmmaking while noting that most women would prefer to be in front of the camera instead of behind it. He said:

“Cinematography is one out of several areas of expertise. How many women want to stay behind the camera and be looking through the lens? They all want to be in front, slaying and all so that’s what it is, it has always been like that. It’s like you saying how many female welders or vulcanisers do we have.”

Kunle Afolayan speaks on African stories told by Americans

During the interview, Kunle Afolayan also shared his view on Americans telling African stories, using 'The Woman King' as an example.

According to the Nigerian filmmaker, it’s a bullsh!t ideology that things have to be made by America for it to be seen as good. He added that he had hoped to meet one of the actors who featured in it, John Boyega, at the workshop to ask him some questions.

The Anikulapo filmmaker added that if he, as a Nigerian, was asked to appear in a movie like that, he would have tried to influence certain aesthetics because that’s where he’s from, and people will ask questions.

He said:

“There’s this facade that it has to be done by the Americans before it makes sense and it’s a bullsh!t narrative. I saw Woman King and I thought I would meet John (Boyega) on this, because I was going to ask if really me as a Nigerian I was asked to come and play a film like that, I will try to influence certain aesthetics because it’s me, it’s my home, it’s where I’m from and going back there, they would ask me questions. So if I’m asked to talk like a Kenyan playing a Nigerian, I will question why and probably turn it down, but then business is business, it’s his job and he’s an actor. Again they have a structure that works there.”

Kunle Afolayan also talked about the ‘Americanised’ accents in such movies and the wrong portrayal of some things. He cited the example of Angelique Kidjo, who he said had a mixture of an African and American accent in The Woman King, or how Oyo people were portrayed as Talibans with their attire and more.

He said:

“Angelique Kidjo is partly Yoruba and partly Dahomey which is the tribe that is being talked about but when they were talking, she was talking with an American accent mixed with Africa and they they portrayed the Oyo people as people with Taliban, those are things I would have questioned but then like I rightly said, it’s a busines. The way it runs there is different and we that we’re even making effort to do it right to make sure certain aesthetic things are right, people should give us credit.”