Kunle Remi, widely recognized for his role in the Netflix series Anikulapo, recently shared his thoughts on what makes a movie truly cinema-worthy.
The actor in an interview with Hiptv News has asserted that not every movie termed cinematic is truly cinema-worthy.
He emphasized that both audiences and filmmakers often confuse TV-quality films with cinema, without fully understanding what it takes to create a truly cinematic experience.
“Not everybody understands what cinema is. I don’t think a lot of people understand it in the first place, that is why you have a low-budget film put in the cinemas when it’s not even cinema-worthy. And you see people come for you. There is a difference between a cinematic film and a film for TV, “ he said.
In the interview, Kunle added that Kunle Afolayan, director of Anikulapo does films with good cinematic value adding that he might not be a good TV director if he’s put in that space.
“The moment Nigerians and filmmakers understand that we won’t be having this conversation. Kunle Afolayan for example, does cinema if you look at the quality of his project, the style and effort put into it are cinema. If he does TV films, he might not do so great because he is probably focused or trained to do cinema films,” he added.
As an actor, Kunle emphasized that he can often tell when a film is rushed and poorly executed. He noted that some filmmakers might label these films as cinema-worthy, but he can easily recognize when they fall short.
“TV films are maybe cable films or online TVs and you can tell this was done in 5 days. I’m an actor and I can tell. Sometimes I’m doing a film and they tell me, it’s for the cinemas and I laugh. I know I’m not supposed to but, it’s funny,” he said.
However, he emphasized that he is not discouraging emerging filmmakers who are still learning the craft. Instead, he advised them not to take offense at constructive criticism of their work.
“I can’t discourage anyone cos it might be a starting point for some people do not be angry if people come for you or movie lovers share opinions of your film or critics talk about it cos you can’t then compare it to a Hollywood production,” he concluded.
Remi rose to stardom after his victory in the 7th edition of Gulder Ultimate Search in 2010. His introduction to acting began shortly after that. He has appeared in numerous films, including Ijakumo, Falling, A Naija Christmas, Introducing the Kujus, and The Prophetess.
