Livespot Studios has appointed musician and producer Darey Art Alade and filmmaker Kayode Kasum as co-directors of “University of Side Hustle,” the studio’s first scripted feature film.
The Lagos-set drama, written by Dami Elebe, according to a statement, is Art Alade’s debut as a feature film director.
“University of Side Hustle” follows three young Lagosians navigating the tension between the careers that pay their bills and the side hustles that define them. Filming is scheduled to begin in Lagos this August, with the production targeting a fourth-quarter release and festival premieres from as early as November, including a grand premiere at Entertainment Week Africa.
The project marks Livespot Studios’ entry into original scripted intellectual property aimed at African audiences and international export. It is also Art Alade’s first credit as a feature director, following more than two decades in music, production and creative leadership. He is co-founder and chief creative officer of Livespot360, the company behind Entertainment Week Africa, Livespot X Festival, Detty December Fest and Love Like A Movie. His production credits include The Real Housewives of Lagos for NBCUniversal and Showmax, The Voice Nigeria Season 3, and LOL: Last One Laughing Nigeria, Amazon Prime Video’s first African original adaptation of the comedy format.
Kasum is among Nollywood’s most commercially successful directors, with 12 of his films ranking among the top 100 highest-grossing Nigerian productions. He was ranked third highest-grossing Nollywood director domestically in 2024, the year his film Áfàméfùnà: An Nwa Boi Story became Netflix Nigeria’s most-watched title. He received the Trailblazer Award at the 2025 AMVCA. His other credits include Sugar Rush, Soólè, This Lady Called Life and Netflix’s Far From Home, also written by Elebe.
Art Alade said Lagos offered a setting where people routinely moved between an employed life, an entrepreneurial one and a creative pursuit, and that this tension shaped the film’s emotional and cinematic world.
“Lagos is a city where one person can be an employee in the morning, an entrepreneur in the evening and a creative after midnight. People are constantly moving between the life they have, the life they are building and the life they believe is possible. That tension gives us an energetic and emotionally rich cinematic world. Working with Kayode, we want to create something unconventional, entertaining and unmistakably Nigerian, while opening the door for emerging talent, ” Art Alade said.
Kasum said the film was built around a universal Nigerian reality, in which most people balance a primary plan with a backup one.
“’University of Side Hustle’ is built around a universal Nigerian truth: success comes at a cost, and almost everyone is balancing a plan A with a plan B. What drew me to the film is that it tells that reality from a Nigerian perspective, with all the beauty, chaos and ambition that come with trying to build a life in Lagos, ” Kasum said.
Livespot Studios is the production arm of Livespot360, working across film, television, music, audio and post-production for broadcast, streaming and brand clients. Its credits include The Voice Nigeria, Last One Laughing Nigeria and The Real Housewives of Lagos. Entertainment Week Africa, where the film’s premiere is planned, returns to Lagos from November 17 to 22, 2026, for its fifth edition, bringing together creators, investors and cultural leaders from more than 18 African countries.
•Featured image: Kayode Kasum and Darey Art Alade/Supplied