It’s 4 a.m. on the set of ‘Red Circle’. The camera is rolling. The actors are exhausted. The crew is silent. Akay Mason, the film’s director, is asking for yet another take. What began as a day shoot has turned into a night scramble after a truck breakdown upended the schedule. Everyone’s drained. But Mason knows this moment matters.
“I kept saying, ‘Again.’ ‘One more,’” he recalls. “And they kept giving. Tired, emotional, everything. But they gave. What we captured that night? It was perfect.” That scene, in a warehouse, shot in one intense, emotional take, isn’t just a standout moment in ‘Red Circle’. It is a snapshot of how Akay Mason works: with pressure, purpose, and people who believe in the vision.
‘Red Circle’, a noir-inspired thriller drenched in secrecy and soft betrayals, isn’t Mason’s first time in the director’s chair. But it might be his most personal. With films like ‘Day of Destiny’ and ‘Elevator Baby’, Mason has shown he can deliver genre stories with heart. ‘Red Circle’ raises the stakes. It is messier. Sadder. More adult.
‘Red Circle’ is a gripping blockbuster that dives into secrets, betrayals, and the blurred lines between justice and survival. Leading the cast is Folu Storms as Fikayo Holloway, a determined journalist caught in a dangerous search for the truth. She’s joined by a powerhouse ensemble including Tobi Bakre, Timini Egbuson, Omowunmi Dada, Femi Branch, Lateef Adedimeji, Ibrahim Suleiman, Mike Afolarin, and Bukky Wright. The film also features appearances from Detola Jones, Adebowale Adedayo (Mr Macaroni), Shamz Garuba, and William Benson.
“There are a lot of moving parts,” he says. “And you have to be intentional, especially when the story is this layered.” That intention is clearest in the film’s standout intimate scenes, particularly between characters Fikayo and Kalu. It’s not just about sex; it’s about emotional revelation. “When there’s actual feeling involved, you have to slow things down,” he explains. “It’s not just about heat—it’s about connection. You can feel the difference when you watch it.”
Mason contrasts that with earlier scenes in the film, scenes where intimacy is fast, careless, and desperate. “Those are people using each other. But with Fikayo and Kalu, it’s careful. Gentle. Because it means something.”
The emotional range of ‘Red Circle’ demanded more than just precision; it demanded adaptability. Especially when the production was forced to pivot mid-shoot. “Day three”, Akay Mason says. “Our truck broke down. Equipment didn’t make it. We lost a whole shoot day.”
Rather than panic, Mason and his team improvised. The daylight scene was reworked into a night shoot. Lights, blocking, and mood had to change fast. But the story—somehow—held. “We were shooting until 4 a.m. Everyone was running on fumes,” he says. “But my actors? My team? They were generous. They let me go again and again. That’s the kind of people I had around me.”
In a film titled ‘Red Circle’, the metaphor isn’t just for show. It runs deep. Circles, for Mason, aren’t just themes; they’re life lessons. “When I was younger, my entire circle was career,” he says. “I was fully focused on building, learning, creating, and pushing. I missed a lot. Birthdays. Anniversaries. Family stuff.”
His family, he says, protected him from things. Kept their own pain private. “They didn’t want to distract me. They knew how emotional I am.” But things are different now. With a maturing career and a clearer sense of self, Mason’s priorities have shifted. “My family is the circle that holds me now,” he says. “They sacrificed for me to get here. And now, I want to be present for them. I want to grow with them. That’s what ‘Red Circle’ reminded me of.”
For all its crime and suspense, ‘Red Circle’ is, at its core, a story about the people we choose to keep close—the ones who lift us, frustrate us, and forgive us. It’s about the relationships we come back to when everything else fades.
Akay Mason isn’t trying to hype the film with numbers or metrics. He’s inviting people into a world that means something to him, both on screen and off. “We built something intense,” he says. “Something full of emotion and craft and truth. I think you’ll feel that.”
With ‘Red Circle’ hitting cinemas on June 6, he has a simple ask: “Go watch it. She loves it. I love it. Everybody loves it. You’ll feel something. I promise.”
