Tunde Babalola

Tunde Babalola, is a scriptwriter in Nigerian cinema and British television series.[1] He is most notable for the script writing of critically acclaim movies such as Last Flight to Abuja, Critical Assignment, October 1 and Citation.[2]

Tunde Babalola
Born
Tunde Babalola

England
NationalityNigerian
British
Alma materObafemi Awolowo University
Occupationscriptwriter, actor
Years active1997–present

Personal life

He was born and grew up in England. Later he moved to Nigeria with parents and siblings. His father was an accountant and mother worked in the Central Bank. Under the guidance of his uncle, a Lieutenant-Colonel in the Nigerian Army, Babalola forced to apply to the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA). However, his mother did not give him the permission. Therefore, he gained admission to study Dramatic Arts at the Obafemi Awolowo University.[3]

Career

At the age of 14, he wrote his first film script In The Raw. After he returned to United Kingdom, he joined with Channel 4 and wrote the play for sitcom series called In Exile. He later worked with several the channels: BBC, Carlton Television and Chrysalis Television.[3]

Babalola started as a writer with the TV serial The Bill. After the serial received fan popularity, he wrote the three TV serials in 1997: True to Life Player, Crime of a Lesser Passion and Armed and Dangerous.[4] In 1998, he wrote the serial One Man, Two Faces. Later in 2002, he made maiden cinema appearance as an actor with the horror film Deep Freeze. He played the role as a helicopter pilot.[3]

In 2014, he wrote the script of critically acclaimed blockbuster October 1, where he took four weeks to write the first draft of the film and three drafts only took about a week to complete. The script was initially submitted with the title Dust,[5] mainly because the story is set in a very dusty town. Even though Afolayan didn't want to do big budget projects at the time, he knew he had no choice, as he wanted to interpret the writer's vision adequately because it is a "national film with a universal appeal". He expressed that he liked the story of October 1 because it is a period piece, which he had never done before and "it is also significant to the present state of Nigeria". As a result, he decided to explore the film by adding his own ideas to the subsequent drafts of the script.[6]

In 2015, he joined as the writer and producer of the comedy TV production Rib Busters: Comedy Show.[7] In 2015, Babalola won the awards for the Best Comedy Writer for the film The meeting and Best Drama Writer for the film October 1 at Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards.[8]

Filmography
YearFilmRoleGenreRef.
1997The BillwriterTV Series
1997True to Life PlayerwriterTV Series
1997Crime of a Lesser PassionwriterTV Series
1997Armed and DangerouswriterTV Series
1998In ExilewriterTV Series
1998One Man, Two FaceswriterTV Series
2002Single VoiceswriterTV Series
2002Deep FreezeActor: ShockleyFilm
2004Critical Assignmentscreenplay, writerFilm[9]
2008Life in Slow MotionwriterShort film
2011MaamiscreenplayFilm
2012Last Flight to AbujastoryFilm
2012The MeetingwriterFilm
2014October 1script writerFilm
2016The CEOwriterFilm
2019Mokalik (Mechanic)writerFilm[10]
2020CitationwriterFilm
TBDLa Femme AnjolawriterFilm

References
  1. "Actress, Anne Njemanze Steps out with Sneakers on Native Attire". modernghana. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  2. "Tunde Babalola: Screenwriter, story". MUBI. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  3. "As a scriptwriter, I faced rejection for three years in UK–Tunde Babalola". Vintage Press Limited. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  4. "Tunde Babalola: Filmography". British Film Institute. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  5. Jasanya, Olamide (19 May 2014). "NET EXCLUSIVE: Kunle Afolayan opens up on his new film and relocation plans". The Nigerian Entertainment Today. The NET. Archived from the original on 22 June 2014. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
  6. Channels TV. "EN- Kunle Afolayan Speaks On New Flick October 1". YouTube. YouTube. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  7. "Tunde Babalola credits". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  8. "'The Meeting', 'October 1' shine at AMVCA". premiumtimesng. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  9. "Critical Assignment". fandango. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  10. "Movie Review: Kunle Afolayan's 'Mokalik' thrives on memory, not viewer satisfaction". premiumtimesng. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
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