If you see Nigeria’s acclaimed filmmaker, Kunle Afolayan, in a good mood, grinning from ear to ear these days, he deserves to openly show his joy.
The talented filmmaker and culture promoter has just completed and moved into a new multi-purpose corporate headquarters in Ikeja, Lagos called KAP-Hub.
The new hub is indeed eye-popping, showing Afolayan’s knack for catchy designs and afrocentric interior decor.
It will serve as the permanent space for the corporate and official duties of the celebrated actor-producer who is responsible for flicks such as The Figurine, October 1, The CEO, Mokalik and The Citation (already in post-production and scheduled to premiere later this year), among others.
According to him, KAP-Hub was created as a result of an expansion of the Golden Effects Pictures, his mother company, into subsidiary brands in a bid to address some challenging aspects of filmmaking in Nigeria.
The Hub boasts of an hospitable reception, a cozy lounge, an art-adorned walkway that will make eyes dart around, a conference room, an office space, and a state of the art sound studio.
It will house KAP Motion Pictures, KAP Film & Television Academy, KAP Cinema, Sound Stage Studio, KAP Television as well as a Restaurant & Bar.
Afolayan is not new to creating buzz with his property. A few years ago when he completed his home, not a few fans said wow to the grand style in which he drew attention to it online.
For KAP-hub, the October 1 director is also taking his fans and associates on a tour of his latest projects which, in two phases, are all housed at this new corporate headquarters:
KAP Motion Pictures
KAP Motion Pictures will take over the production of films and other contents from Golden Effects Pictures. “You may have come across these productions under KAP Motion pictures like The CEO and Mokalik. With KAP Motion pictures handling the production functions, Golden Effects Pictures stands to handle the Film equipment rental services, Film consulting services, and Line productions services,” Afolayan says in a newsletter released over the weekend and made available to TCN.
KAP Film & Television Academy
With a holding capacity of 100, KAP Film & Television Academy can also serve as a conference room, workshop or seminar hall. Imagine gaining hands-on experiences from veterans and great film professionals with in-depth industry experience and also gain exposure to diverse film making tools while being on set of different movies. I specially designed this project to provide all these and more to people who are passionate about art, creativity, Television, Film and the New Media. With this in mind, it really doesn’t matter if you’ve never worked or been in these fields before, as long as you have the zeal to learn, anything is possible. Summarily, the academy will offer special film programs for kids; hands-on experiences in film and television; digital online programs in film and television.
The second phase of his project which is already in the pipeline are:
KAP Cinema
Situated in a serene environment, this 120-seater structure will be built to provide a 360-viewing experience. “Imagine hosting your private screening or premiering your movie in such an exclusive atmosphere, wouldn’t that be great? I definitely know I would be attending such event. Okay, I know not everyone would release a movie anytime soon, but wouldn’t you love to have exclusive access to top rated movies from around the world and also a physical tour of a film production structure alongside other cinematic pleasures?”
Sound Stage Studio
“Having been on the set of different productions, I realized that a common problem experienced on set is not having control over your environment. In other words, there are limits to what you can do in a fixed location, but with a sound studio, you gain ultimate control of your environment and the power to manipulate your space to whatever creative atmosphere you can imagine. This insight birthed this aspect of my project – the development of a Sound Stage Studio with a holding capacity of 200, which would be among the services rendered by Golden Effects Pictures. So, with this Sound Stage Studio, you can have control over your video, audio and photo shoot or even create the perfect ambiance for your reality television show!”
KAP Television
“I still remember my debut film – Irapada which I produced in 2006. After post production and the movie was released, I could not help but think about the great satisfaction felt by many film professionals when their content hit the big screen. This feeling conceptualized the idea of KAP Television. Already active on Youtube, the second phase of this project involves extending into a television network to enable different individuals share their content to the world at ease.”
Restaurant & Bar
“If you know me well, you’ll know how I love to have fun and eat good food! That is why I also included a space just for that, where different creatives within the creative space – writers, musicians, actors, filmmakers, visual artists, advertisers, designers and the likes can come together to unwind, eat exquisite dishes, drink and interact with one another. The best part of this experience is that you’ll have the opportunity of touring a film production house, and get to meet different creatives from around the world while being entertained by a live band.”
With KAP-hub, Afolayan has not only shown he’s got eyes for good taste and great space, but has also demonstrated that his brand can attract the sort of facility that makes such grand projects happen.
