The Figurine

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 finds 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. 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 wide critical acclaim. 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. 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. The Figurine has also been used as a subject of educational studies in the Arts department of some higher institutions.