Darey Art Alade is making his feature directorial debut with University of Side Hustle, co-directing the Lagos-set drama with filmmaker Kayode Kasum.
Written by Dami Elebe, the film is the first scripted feature from Livespot Studios and forms part of the company’s expansion into original scripted intellectual property for African audiences and international distribution.
University of Side Hustle follows three young Lagosians navigating the tension between their day jobs and the side hustles through which they pursue their ambitions and identities.
Art Alade is best known as the co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of Livespot360, the company behind Entertainment Week Africa and productions including The Real Housewives of Lagos and The Voice Nigeria. University of Side Hustle marks his first feature directing credit.
Kasum, meanwhile, is one of Nollywood’s commercially successful directors. His film Áfàméfùnà: An Nwa-Boi Story became Netflix Nigeria’s most-watched film of 2024 and earned him the 2025 AMVCA Trailblazer Award.
Speaking about the project, Art Alade described Lagos as a city where one person can be an employee in the morning, an entrepreneur in the evening, and a creative after midnight, creating what he sees as an energetic and emotionally rich setting for the story.
“People are constantly moving between the life they have, the life they are building and the life they believe is possible,” he says.
On collaborating with Kasum, he adds: “Working with Kayode, we want to create something unconventional, entertaining and unmistakably Nigerian, while opening the door for emerging talent.”
Kasum said the film is built around a reality familiar to many Nigerians, where ambition often requires people to balance multiple plans at once.
“Success comes at a cost, and almost everyone is balancing a plan A with a plan B,” he says, describing the story as a reflection of the beauty, chaos, and ambition of building a life in Lagos from a Nigerian perspective.
Filming is set to begin in Lagos this August, with the film targeting a fourth-quarter release and festival premieres from as early as November, including a premiere at Entertainment Week Africa.
