In addition to the being the airline’s ambassador, Air France will also support Afolayan’s next movie titled ‘The CEO’
When I got a call last week about a meeting at the Air France office, I was excited there is a new dawn in the Nigerian film industry popularly called Nollywood.
On arriving at Air France Victoria Island office that sunny July morning, I saw Kunle Afolayan dressed in the famous Air France Navy Blue jacket. I almost mistook him for an air host. Rightly so, Afolayan has become a part of the Air France brand. His passion for the Nigerian film industry and his yearly attendance at the famous Cannes Festival have opened to him a new door of opportunity to fly the flag of Nollywood around the world.
Jean-Raoul Tauzin, general manager, Air France/KLM says the airline is proud to have Afolayan join them as a brand ambassador. “We have been in Nigeria since 1946,” he explains. “We are proud to have someone famous join us as a brand ambassador. We have been sponsoring Festival Du Cannes. We are proud to support it for 30 years. Through Kunle Afolayan, we will be able to develop Nollywood in Nigeria and spread the word worldwide.”
Arthur Dieffenthaler, commercial director, Air France/KLM, says he met Afolayan in Paris some months ago. A few weeks later, he invited Afolayan for a discussion on how to promote Nollywood. “After discussing,” he recalls, “there was a connection which is what Air France does, connecting Nigeria to the world. We looked at our communality. At Air France, the first is carrying our customers. We contribute by carrying people. But we believe we can do more than that by investing in culture and values. That is where movie comes in. Culture is one of any country’s greatest exports.”
Through Kunle Afolayan, Air France hopes to develop Nollywood in Nigeria and spread the word worldwide
In addition to the being the airline’s ambassador, Air France will also support Afolayan’s next movie titled ‘The CEO’. Afolayan’s films, including award-winning ‘The Figurine’ and ‘Phone Swap’, will on the in-flight entertainment menu. ‘The CEO’ will feature actors 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 these countries where the film will be shot.
Afolayan says his Golden Effects company, an audio-visual productions outfit, has in the last 10 years, produced films that are rich in culture, while also bringing many people together. He says his deal with Air France is very new and unique.
“I remember in 2009 when we wanted to shoot ‘The Figurine’, he says, “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 we had to change the script because we couldn’t make it happen.”