Nollywood actress and filmmaker Funke Akindele has appeared to respond to recent comments by fellow filmmaker Kunle Afolayan on the growing pressure surrounding cinema movie promotions, sharing a series of strongly worded messages on her Instagram Story.
In posts shared on Saturday, Akindele, whose film Behind The Scenes recently crossed the ₦2 billion mark at the box office, rejected insinuations that her success or marketing style was responsible for difficulties faced by other creatives in the industry.
“I’m not the one hindering your progress. Ka rin ka po, yiye ni n ye ni,” she wrote in one of the posts.
The actress further urged colleagues to stay focused on their personal journeys instead of measuring their progress against 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!!!” she added.
In another message, Akindele encouraged filmmakers to adopt different promotional approaches if existing trends felt overwhelming, rather than criticising them.
“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 statements by Afolayan, who said he would fully return to cinema releases only if filmmakers were no longer expected to engage in physically demanding promotional routines, including frequent social media dance content, to sell their films.
Afolayan made the remarks at the Lagos Business of Film Summit, where he spoke on the evolving nature of movie marketing 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,” he said.
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Recalling his early years in the industry, the filmmaker described the experience as draining.
“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 stated.
He also mentioned Akindele while explaining why the current promotional climate does not work for 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.
Afolayan revealed that several of his projects have been in development for over four years, noting that he remains open to cinema releases if more sustainable marketing models emerge.
Prompt News reports the filmmaker has previously voiced similar concerns. Speaking at the watch party of his Netflix series Aníkúlápó: The Ghouls Awaken, he questioned the financial rewards tied to cinema success.
“I don’t want two billion streams at the cinemas and end up receiving ten million naira,” he added.
