Two friends doing their national youth service find a strange carved figure in an abandoned shrine in the bush. They take it home. Soon, good fortune follows them: jobs, money and love. But according to legend, the goddess Araromire grants seven years of good luck, followed by seven years of misfortune. The Figurine, released in 2009, turned that idea into one of the most talked about Nigerian films of its time.
The director, cast and story
Kunle Afolayan, son of the Yoruba filmmaker Adeyemi Afolayan, directed and co-starred in the film. It was one of his earliest features and established him as a major new voice. Ramsey Nouah, Omoni Oboli and Afolayan play the three central characters, two friends and the woman both of them love. Their performances were widely praised.
The film blends drama, thriller and supernatural elements. As the friends’ luck begins to turn, they must decide whether the curse is real or whether their troubles have other causes.
Production and awards
The Figurine was shot on film-standard equipment with a larger budget than most Nollywood productions of the time. Its look stood out in cinemas and on DVD. The film was released in Nigerian cinemas at a time when the cinema industry was reviving. It helped show that local films could draw paying audiences to multiplexes.
At the 2010 Africa Movie Academy Awards, The Figurine won five awards, including Best Picture. It also screened at international festivals.
Language and influence
The film uses English and Yoruba, reflecting the setting and the characters’ backgrounds. The Figurine is often cited as one of the films that launched the “New Nollywood” movement, with higher production values and cinema releases. Afolayan went on to make Phone Swap, October 1, Citation and Anikulapo. The film opens during the National Youth Service Corps year, a shared experience for Nigerian graduates. Many viewers recognised the camp scenes and the friendships formed there, which helped ground the supernatural story in ordinary life.
The question of belief
Much of the tension comes from whether the characters believe in the curse. The film leaves room for viewers to decide whether the goddess is real or whether the characters are destroying themselves. The Figurine asked whether luck could be borrowed from a goddess. For Kunle Afolayan, the film’s success was earned the ordinary way, and it lasted longer than seven years.
