Amidst cries that corporate businesses are not supporting the Nigerian motion picture industry, otherwise called Nollywood, the art of notable actor and filmmaker, Kunle Afolayan, got a boost on Wednesday when Air France inked a partnership with him and his next movie, The CEO.
Excited Afolayan shared the news on the social media shortly after the deal.
He said: “It’s all about hard work and God. I have just been appointed as the ambassador for Air France and the deal covers several projects of mutual benefits. Thank you to all family, friends and fans for your support so far. Ire lojo gbogbo.”
The deal is coming on the eve of his new movie, The CEO, another work which pundits say will further stamp the filmmaker as a promoter of cross cultural stories and pedant for technical details.
The new film, for which Afolayan said he will hit location next month, will be starring top stars from Anglophone and Francophone countries, including Nigeria, Morocco, Ivory Coast, Kenya and South Africa.
Part of the deal will be for Air France to fly the cast and crew round the countries where the film will take its locations.
The airline will also be showcasing previous works of the filmmaker on the in-flight entertainment.
The ceremony at the Victoria Island office of Air France had friends and colleagues of the filmmaker in attendance.
They included veteran filmmaker, Tunde Kelani; Chairman of the newly-approved Audio-Visual Rights Society, Mahmood Ali-Balogun; Founder and CEO of Africa International Film Festival, Chioma Ude; and Associate Producer/Communication Director of The CEO, Seun Soyinka.
Speaking during the ceremony, Jean-Raoul Tauzin, the General Manager of Air France/KLM, said his company is proud to have Afolayan joining the Air France family as a brand ambassador.
Tauzin said: “If you are familiar with the Air France environment, we have been in Nigeria since 1946, serving the country, serving its citizens and we are very pleased that we have someone very famous and international to represent our brand.
“As you may know, Air France has been sponsoring the Cannes International Film Festival since 1980 and we are very proud to be a partner of the Festival de Cannes to develop the industry of entertainment and art in France.
“Therefore we are very convinced that with the help of Kunle Afolayan, we will be able also to develop as much as we can a partnership between Air France and Nollywood in Nigeria.”
Signing the MOU with Afolayan, the Commercial Director of Air France/KLM, Arthur Dieffenthaler, recalled that he met Afolayan at the ‘Nollywood Paris Film Festival’ earlier in the year and that he was wowed by his the filmmaker’s level of attainment in the Nigerian film industry as well as his recognition garnered on the international scene.
“…And after discussing about his movie and possible business partnership, I could see that there was a connection,” Dieffenthaler said, adding: “And as you know in Air France, connecting is what we do: we connect people throughout the world.
“We have also been connecting Nigeria for almost 70 years with the rest of the world.
“And that’s who we are.”
For Afolayan, it was about his call as a filmmaker and someone who understands the importance of branding.
He recalled that his Golden Effects company, which deals in audio-visual productions, has in the last 10 years done quality films that are rich in culture, while also bringing everybody together, including brand association with several companies.
He however described his deal with Air France as something very new and unique.
He said: “I remember in 2009 when we wanted to shoot The Figurine, we approached quite a number of airlines because there were parts to be shot in Germany and we tried to see how to make that happen, but again we had to change the script because we couldn’t make it happen.
“This journey started in Paris and the very moment they engaged me, I just started talking my passion.
“Air France did something quite overwhelming for me.
“I was meant to go to Los Angeles and those who invited provided an Economic Class ticket.
“I tried everything possible to upgrade that ticket, but I couldn’t afford to because it was quite expensive.
“And as I was making enquiries, I got a call from Air France that they were willing to upgrade me all the way to Los Angeles.
“That ticket was not a sponsorship ticket.
“They paid over N1 million to get it for me without signing anything.
“That was before we had reached any agreement on our partnership.
“And I said to myself: this means that these people (Air France) actually have the interest of not just me but the Nigerian entertainment industry at heart.”