Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jkksz Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T19:09:43.522Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Interview with Tunde Kelani

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 December 2020

Tunde Onikoyi
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In this interview with the Nigerian filmmaker, Tunde Kelani, film scholar Tunde Onikoyi explores the universe of Kelani’s cinematic vision, particularly as it relates to Thunderbolt (2002) and Dazzling Mirage (2014). Although produced twelve years apart, what binds them is a common humanitarian narrative temperament. Onikoyi and Kelani discuss his films in broader terms, exploring literary references, Kelani’s interest in health, and how cinema convey his creative tendencies. The interlocutors investigate the effects of “magun,” male chauvinism, and patriarchal idiosyncrasies in contemporary Nigeria. Kelani shares his filmmaking vision, and reflects on the future of Nigerian cinema in framing African story-telling.

Résumé

Résumé

Dans cet entretien avec le cinéaste nigérian Tunde Kelani, Tunde Onikoyi explore l’univers de la vision cinématographique de Kelani, notamment en ce qui concerne Thunderbolt (2002) et Dazzling Mirage (2014). Bien que produit à douze ans d’intervalle, ce qui lie ces œuvres est un tempérament narratif humanitaire commun. Onikoyi et Kelani discutent de ses films en termes plus larges, explorant les références littéraires, l’intérêt de Kelani pour la santé et la façon dont le cinéma transmet ses tendances créatives. Les interlocuteurs étudient les effets du « magun », du chauvinisme masculin et des particularités patriarcales dans le Nigeria contemporain. Kelani partage sa vision cinématographique et spécule sur l’avenir du cinéma nigérian dans l’encadrement des récits africains.

Resumo

Resumo

Nesta entrevista ao realizador nigeriano Tunde Kelani, Tunde Onikoyi, estudioso académico de cinema, explora o universo cinemático de Kelani, em especial no que diz respeito a Thunderbolt (2002) e Dazzling Mirage (2014). Ainda que tenham sido produzidos com doze anos de intervalo, este dois filmes têm em comum uma atmosfera narrativa de caráter humanitário. Onikoyi e Kelani conversam sobre os seus filmes em termos abrangentes, explorando referências literárias, o interesse de Kelani por questões de saúde, e o modo como o cinema lhe permite transmitir as suas tendências criativas. Entrevistador e entrevistado analisam as consequências da prática antiadultério do “magun”, do machismo e das idiossincrasias patriarcais da Nigéria contemporânea. Além disso, Kelani dá a conhecer a sua visão sobre a realização cinematográfica e reflete sobre o futuro papel do cinema nigeriano na estruturação dos modos narrativos em África.

Keywords

NollywoodTunde KelaniAfrican culturemodernitystory-tellingauteuradaptation
Type
Article
Information
African Studies Review , Volume 64 , Issue 1 , March 2021 , pp. E1 - E25
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the African Studies Association

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

References

Adesokan, Akin. 2009. “Practicing Democracy in Nigerian Films.” African Affairs 108 (433): 599–619.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Adesokan, Akin. 2011. Postcolonial Artists and Global Aesthetics. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.Google Scholar
Afolayan, Adeshina. 2014. Auteuring Nollywood: Critical Perspectives on The Figurine. Ibadan: Ibadan University Press.Google Scholar
Esonwanne, Uzoma. 2008. “Interviews with Amaka Igwe, Tunde Kelani, and Kenneth Nnebue.” Research in African Literatures 39 (4).10.2979/RAL.2008.39.4.24CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harrow, Kenneth. 2017. African Filmmaking: Five Formations. East Lansing, Michigan: Michigan State University Press.Google Scholar
Haynes, Jonathan. 2007a. “Nollywood in Lagos, Lagos in Nollywood Films.” Africa Today 54 (2): 131–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haynes, Jonathan. 2007b. “TK in NYC: An Interview with Tunde Kelani.” Postcolonial Text 3 (2): 18–33.Google Scholar
Haynes, Jonathan. 2016. Nollywood: The Creation of Nigerian Film Genres. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haynes, Jonathan, and Okome, Onokome. 2007. “Evolving Popular Media: Nigerian Video Films”. In Nigerian Video Films: Revised and Expanded Edition. Edited by Haynes, Jonathan, 51–88. Athens: Ohio University Center for International Studies.Google Scholar
Jeyifo, Biodun. 2010. “Will Nollywood Get Better? Did Hollywood and Bollywood Get Better?” In Drama and Theatre in Nigeria, edited by Ogunbiyi, Yemi, 589–621. Lagos: Tanus Books.Google Scholar
Okome, Onokome. 2007. “Introducing the Special Issue on West African Cinema: Africa at the Movies.” Postcolonial Text 3 (2): 1–16.Google Scholar
Onikoyi, Babatunde. 2006. “Film and Literature: Connections and Disconnections.” Master’s Thesis, Submitted to Department of Theatre Arts, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.Google Scholar
Onikoyi, Babatunde. 2014. “Political Rhetoric in African Cinema.” The Performer: Ilorin Journal of Performing Arts 16: 249–67.Google Scholar
Onikoyi, Babatunde. 2016a. “The Literary and Filmic in Nigeria: The Dynamics of Exchange,” in Media Studies in Nigeria: Genesis and Detours, edited by Okome, Onookome and Okhakhu, Marcel, 279–96. Ibadan: Stirling Horden.Google Scholar
Onikoyi, Babatunde. 2016b. “Dancing out a Nation’s State of Pity and Amusement: Kelani’s Retelling of Ogunde’s Yoruba Ronu.” Ejotmas: Ekpoma Journal of Theatre and Media Arts 5 (1): 41–56.Google Scholar
Onikoyi, Babatunde. 2016c. “Irreducible Africanness and the Auteur Theory: Re-reading Kelani’s Political and Committed Movies.” Journal of Pan-African Studies 10 (1): 242–59.Google Scholar
Onikoyi, Babatunde. 2016d. “October 1, dir. Kunle Afolayan (review).” African Studies Review 59(1): 234–5.Google Scholar
Orlando, Valerie K. 2017. New African Cinema. London: Rutgers University Press.Google Scholar
Osofisan, Femi. 1994. MAAMi. Ibadan: Malthouse.Google Scholar
Soetan, Olusegun. 2018. “The Hearthstone: Language, Culture and Politics in the Films of Tunde Kelani.” Polymath: An Interdisciplinary Arts and Science Journal 8 (2): 1–26.Google Scholar
Ukadike, Frank. 1994. Black African Cinema. Los Angeles: University of California Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Filmography

Kelani, Tunde. 1993, Ti Oluwa Ni Ile, Part 1 (93). Mainframe Films, Nigeria.Google Scholar
Kelani, Tunde. 1994. Ayo Ni Mofe, Part 1 (90). Mainframe Films, Nigeria.Google Scholar
Kelani, Tunde. 1994. Ayo Ni Mofe, Part 2 (90). Mainframe Films, Nigeria.Google Scholar
Kelani, Tunde. 1994. Ti Oluwa Ni Ile, Part 2 (93). Mainframe Films, Nigeria.Google Scholar
Kelani, Tunde. 1995 Kosegbe (96). Mainframe Films, Nigeria.Google Scholar
Kelani, Tunde. 1995. Ti Oluwa Ni Ile, Part 3 (93). Mainframe Films, Nigeria.Google Scholar
Kelani, Tunde. 1997. O Le Ku, Part 1 (90). Mainframe Films, Nigeria.Google Scholar
Kelani, Tunde. 1997. O Le Ku, Part 2 (90). Mainframe Films, Nigeria.Google Scholar
Kelani, Tunde. 1999. Saworoide (95). Mainframe Films, Nigeria.Google Scholar
Kelani, Tunde. 2002. Agogo Ewo(100). Mainframe Films, Nigeria.Google Scholar
Kelani, Tunde. 2003. Thunderbolt(110). Mainframe Films, Nigeria Google Scholar
Kelani, Tunde. 2004. Campus Queen(96). Mainframe Films, Nigeria.Google Scholar
Kelani, Tunde. 2006 Abeni (92). Mainframe Films, Nigeria.Google Scholar
Kelani, Tunde. 2007. Narrow Path(95). Mainframe Films, Nigeria.Google Scholar
Kelani, Tunde. 2008 Arugba (95). Mainframe Films, Nigeria.Google Scholar
Kelani, Tunde. 2011. MAAMi. (93). Mainframe Films, Nigeria.Google Scholar
Kelani, Tunde. 2014. Dazzling Mirage (120). Mainframe Films, Nigeria.Google Scholar
Kelani, Tunde. 2016 Pyrolysis and Paralysis (3). Mainframe Films, Nigeria.Google Scholar
Kelani, Tunde. 2017. Akinwunmi and the Rest of Us (17). Mainframe Films, Nigeria.Google Scholar
Kelani, Tunde. 2017 Sidi Ilunjinle. Mainframe Films, Nigeria.Google Scholar