How Afrobeats Star Burna Boy Is Taking Pan-African Cinema to the Next Level by Supporting Revenge Thriller ‘3 Cold Dishes’

A high-stakes thriller executive produced by Afrobeats star Burna Boy titled “3 Cold Dishes” — about three African women exacting cold revenge on the men who sexually exploited them — is looking to take pan-African cinema to the next level.

Set across Nigeria, Benin and Côte d’Ivoire, “3 Cold Dishes” is directed by Nigerian filmmaker Asurf Oluseyi (“Hakkunde”), who learned his craft by watching YouTube and also makes music videos, including several for Burna Boy, who has two tracks in the film.

“My aspiration is for ‘African cinema’ to not just be a term for collective African films, but to actually become a genre just like we have Afrobeat,” Oluseyi tells Variety.

“As Africans we have shared stories; we have shared realities,” the director adds. “I hope we can get to a point where we have a film that is not just seen as a Nigerian film, or as a North African or South African film, but as an African film. That’s been my dream. I know it’s very tough, but someone needs to start.”

Driven by Burna Boy’s global influence and Oluseyi’s assured direction, the thriller — about three women named Esosa, Fatouma and Giselle who were sold as teenagers into the sex trade and reunite across West Africa 13 years later to plot their revenge — opened Oct. 3 at a packed premiere at London’s Cineworld ahead of its Nov. 7 nationwide U.K. release.

Meanwhile, “3 Cold Dishes” is set to open the Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF) in Lagos, Nigeria, on Nov. 2, followed by a theatrical rollout across roughly 26 African countries. Theatrical outings in France, the U.S. and Canada are also planned.

“We went to London first, and we were very strategic with London,” says Oluseyi. “For one, it’s home for Burna. And two, it’s home to a huge percentage of the Nigerian diaspora.”

As Oluseyi explains, the thinking behind the “3 Cold Dishes” rollout strategy is: “If we start the premiere in Nigeria, it could label this as a Nigerian film. But if we go to London, we’re saying: ‘It’s a Pan-African.'”

“3 Cold Dishes” is produced by Francis Nebot’s Ifind, Alma Prods., Asurf Films and Martian Network, and co-produced by Pape Boye‘s Black Mic Mac. Burna Boy is executive producing through Spaceship Films, the company he co-founded with Bose Ogulu.

“We all know about Afrobeat conquering the world,” Nebot pointed out, before noting that Burna Boy ran a “3 Cold Dishes” trailer on giant screens earlier this year in front of 80,000 people at the end of his concert at Paris’ Stade de France.

Talks are now ongoing to premiere the film in L.A., Atlanta and Houston during the second half of November “because Burna Boy is doing a U.S. tour around this release window,” says Oluseyi. He added that its Canadian release is confirmed for Dec. 16 in tandem with Burna Boy’s Canadian tour.

Besides having the Burna Boy boost, another key aspect in conceiving “3 Cold Dishes” as a breakout picture is that it’s in English and French (with subtitles) or alternately in a full French dub version, “which is pretty rare” for an African film, notes Nebot, who also points out that the thriller is shot in CinemaScope.

Narratively, Oluseyi says what’s crucial is that “3 Cold Dishes” looks at the sex trafficking trade within the African continent, not outside. “We’ve had titles from Africa that have explored trafficking,” he says. “But they are always from Africa to Europe.” However, “the real data is that 90% of these victims are trafficked from one African country to another,” he says.

Overall, what makes “3 Cold Dishes” different from most movies that seek to reach Western audiences out of Africa is that it’s meant to be a mainstream movie. “It was important that we make a film that people can watch and people can pay for, and that we can make money back,” he says.

Incidentally, the budget for “3 Cold Dishes” was roughly $1 million, which the director and producers say is a big budget for an African movie.

World sales on “3 Cold Dishes” are being handled by Pape Boye, while CAA reps the film for North America.