The Figurine

The Figurine: Araromire
Theatrical release poster
Directed byKunle Afolayan
Written byKemi Adesoye[1]
Produced byGolden Effects[2]
StarringRamsey Nouah
Omoni Oboli
Kunle Afolayan
Funlola Aofiyebi-Raimi
Tosin Sido
Narrated byLagbaja
CinematographyYinka Edward
Edited by
  • Kayode Adeleke
  • Steve Sodiya
Music by
Wale Waves
Production
companies
Golden Effects Studios
Jungle FilmWorks
Distributed byGolden Effects Pictures
Release dates
  • 6 February 2009 (2009-02-06) (IFFR)
  • 2 October 2009 (2009-10-02) (Nigeria)
Running time
122 minutes
CountryNigeria
Languages
  • English
  • Yoruba
Budget₦50[3]- 70 million[4]
Box office₦30,000,000 (domestic gross) [5]

The Figurine: Araromire is a 2009 Nigerian supernatural suspense thriller film written by Kemi Adesoye, produced and directed by Kunle Afolayan, who also stars in the film as one of the main protagonists. It also stars Ramsey Nouah and Omoni Oboli.

The movie narrates the story of two friends who find a mystical sculpture in an abandoned shrine in the forest while serving at a National Youth Service Corps camp, and one of them decides to take the artwork home. Unknown to them, the sculpture is from the goddess 'Araromire' which bestows seven years of good luck on anyone who encounters it, and after the seven years have expired, seven years of bad luck follow. The lives of the two friends begin to change for good, as they become successful and wealthy businessmen. However, after seven years, things start to change for the worse.[6][7]

The original idea for a thriller film came long ago from Kunle Afolayan himself and Jovi Babs and it was to be titled Shrine. The script took nine months to be finalized and the development stage took five years. The film was shot in Lagos and Osun States for three months and received sponsorship from companies such as MicCom Golf Resort, GSK, Omatek Computers, MTN, IRS Airlines, and Cinekraft. It also had media partners like HiTV and others. There were no professional stunts on the ground, so most of the stunts were performed by Kunle Afolayan on set.

The film was first released at the 2009 Rotterdam International Film Festival and was met with widespread critical acclaim.[8][9][10][11] It received ten nominations and won five awards at the 6th Africa Movie Academy Awards, including the awards for Best Picture, Heart of Africa, Achievement in Cinematography and Achievement in Visual Effects.[12] On 31 July 2014, A book titled Auteuring Nollywood: Critical Perspectives on The Figurine, detailing scholarly analysis of events in the film was released. The book was also welcomed with positive reviews.[13][14] The Figurine has also been used as a subject of educational studies in the Arts department of some higher institutions.[15][16]

  1. ^ "Kunle Afolayan - Review of The Figurine". Lagos, Nigeria: The Punch Online. Retrieved 13 April 2010. [dead link]
  2. ^ "Araromire". Rotterdam, The Netherlands: The International Film Festival Rotterdam. Archived from the original on 13 June 2011. Retrieved 13 April 2010.
  3. ^ Vourlias, Christopher (5 June 2010). "Nigerian helmer leads 'New Nollywood'". Variety. New York, USA: Reed Business Information. Archived from the original on 6 November 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
  4. ^ "The Figurine raises the bar of Nigerian filmmaking". Lagos, Nigeria: Naija rules. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 30 September 2009.
  5. ^ "'Half Of A Yellow Sun' Confirmed As Nollywood's Most Expensive Movie". Lagos, Nigeria: Naij. Archived from the original on 10 December 2013. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
  6. ^ Folch, Christine. "Movie Review: The Figurine". New York, NY, USA: MTV Networks a division of Viacom International Inc. Archived from the original on 17 April 2010. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
  7. ^ Idowu, Ayo (23 April 2010). "A review of Kunle Afolayan's award-winning movie, Figurine". Nigerian Tribune. Ibadan, Nigeria. Archived from the original on May 6, 2010. Retrieved 10 March 2011.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Naija Stories was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ "Movie Review – The Figurine………..(araromire)". EmpireNaija. Lagos, Nigeria. Archived from the original on 23 September 2018. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  10. ^ Obenson, Tambay A. (28 October 2013). "Halloween 2013 Countdown - Nigerian Director Kunle Afolayan's Horror/Thriller 'The Figurine'". IndieWire. Shadow and Act. Archived from the original on 26 April 2014. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  11. ^ Leu, Bic (14 January 2011). "Nollywood goes for new models to curb piracy". The Guardian Newspaper. Finding Nollywood. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
  12. ^ "Kunle Afolayan's Figurine sweeps AMAA awards". Lagos, Nigeria: Punch Online. Archived from the original on 11 May 2011. Retrieved 13 April 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  13. ^ NONYE AND TUNDE AJAJA (July 26, 2014). "Kunle Afolayan Lauds Book on Figurine". punchng.com. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
  14. ^ "Kunle Afolayan's 2009 Hit Movie "The Figurine" Returns in Book Form". bellanaija.com. 22 July 2014. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
  15. ^ "Nigeria: October 1 Will Open New Chapter in My Life - Kunle Afolayan". AllAfrica. allAfrica.com. 9 August 2014. Archived from the original on 19 August 2014. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  16. ^ Akande, Victor. "Dignitaries honour Kunle Afolayan at book launch". The Nation Newspaper. The Nation. Archived from the original on 19 August 2014. Retrieved 15 August 2014.