‘Criminal’ director Dolapo Adigun wants to make a blockbuster

She was the editor of the 2023 Yoruba language epic directed by Tope Adebayo, Jagun Jagun.

But last year, when Akinmolayan decided to organise a series of training and workshops for aspiring filmmakers, she joined the cohort. The programme ended in November. By December the script for her directorial debut, Criminal, written by Akinmolayan, was on her lap.

“I’ve always wanted to be a director,” she told Pulse Nigeria. The programme, she said, prepared her for the role. “It’s everything you need to do your first film.”

The film debuted in the cinemas on May 31, 2024. According to data from FilmOne from last week, the movie has made ₦32 million at the box office.

The cast includes Funlola Aofiyebi, Uzor Arukwe, Segun Arinze, Chuks Joseph, Gbubemi Ejeye, Obehi Aburime, Taye Arimoro, Bryan Okoye, Austine Onuoha, OG Tega and Miriam Peters.

Criminal follows a gang of criminals led by Arukwe as they invade a hospital and with brute force compel the medical staff to attend to his brother who has been shot.

With Criminal, Adigun was hoping to elevate the conversations around gunshot wounds and the gridlocks that medical staff sometimes face with how to approach administering treatment to patients to the public consciousness.

“I don’t have a personal experience with it but I’ve heard stories of gunshot wounds and doctors getting finicky,” she said. “I think doctors don’t want to get in trouble with the law. That is a discussion I want the public to have with this film.”

Though Criminal is her directorial debut, it is not the first time she is in the director’s seat on a project. She has also worked as a director on a short action film that hasn’t seen the light of day. That film also contributed to her decision to direct Criminal, which is a thriller packed with action.

“Seeing that this is in the same neighbourhood with that is a good thing. But also Mr Niyi wrote it himself. He is a great scriptwriter and anything he writes I will direct,” she said. “He’s been a great boss and sometimes you will think he’s your co-worker, working right there with you. You don’t always see your bosses getting their hands dirty, doing the things that you should be doing.”

Though Criminal did not break the box office – at least not yet – Adigun said she is ready to direct bigger projects. “Expect my next project to be a big blockbuster film. I think I’m ready for it,” she said.