The rise of Ikorodu Bois and how they got Kunle Afolayan's attention with Netflix's Extraction

Until five years ago, not 100 of Lagosians – let alone Nigerians – knew the amount of creativity and talent imbued in the Sanni brothers.

However, in 2017, the three brothers, 22-year-old Babatunde Sanni, 15-year-old Muiz Sanni, 10-year-old Malik Sanni, and their 12-year-old cousin, Fawas Aina decided to take their fates in their hands by creating the brand now known as Ikorodu Bois.

The team, led by Babatunde, believed in their ability to creatively recreate high-end music and film productions across the globe. The journey wasn’t an easy or friendly one yet these youngsters kept pushing out contents.

As the contents grew, they caught the attention of social media buffs and in no time became one of the delights on Instagram and Twitter.

With over a 100 recreation of films and music videos on Instagram, the Ikorodu Bois soon became the darling of many while accruing large followership.

As the world battles to conquer the infamous coronavirus, many businesses were hit and the entertainment industry suffered in and outside Nigeria. Despite this, the Ikorodu Bois kept on with what they know best – recreating and filming skits with an abysmally low budget. It was during this period that the ‘bois’ break came.

The decision to recreate two high-end productions from Netflix originals, ‘Extraction’ and ‘La casa de Papel (Money Heist)’ has become their greatest doing so far.

The Ikorodu Bois’ recreation of the two Netflix originals got them the attention of the world. Netflix was wowed and drawn into the creative world of the Ikorodu Bois that they were penned down to attend the premiere of ‘Extraction’.

Not only were their crafts acknowledged by the world, but also by notable personalities like Will Smith, Chris Hemsworth, and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

And to reward and nurture the craft of these young creatives, Netflix awarded the Ikorodu Bois with a filming starter pack to support the quality of their productions. The film starter pack consists of Canon c100, professional film lenses, DJI Ronin-S, iMac Pro, Light sets, and many more.

As the Ikorodu Bois gained the attention of the creative world including CNN and Netflix, Nigerian born international filmmaker, Kunle Afolayan has decided to have the four creatives under his wings as they fly to the zenith of their careers.

Afolayan expressed his decision to reward the four creatives’ hard work, passion, and undaunted creativity, by nurturing and encouraging them. To this end, Afolayan awarded the Ikorodu Bois a full scholarship into KAP Film & Television Academy as well as an exclusive mentorship program with Kunle Afolayan.