A Benin Kingdom epic full of myth, history, and girl-power, Osamede is officially crossing the pond, and it’s a flex for Nollywood.
Osamede, the blazing new Nollywood fantasy epic, is not playing small, it’s rolling into select cinemas across the UK and U.S. starting November 28. Fresh off winning Best Narrative Feature at the Silicon Valley African Film Festival, this Benin-set story is leveling up fast.
Directed by James Omokwe and produced by Lilian Olubi under Gold Lilies, the film was born from a stage play and transformed into a genre-bending cinematic experience. The story? A young orphan girl named Osamede (played by Ivie Okujaye) finds mysterious power in an ancient Aruosa stone, and she’s forced to take on her destiny during the 1897 British invasion of the Benin Kingdom.
Osamede is a historical-fantasy hybrid rooted in Edo cosmology, the kind of story that reclaims regional heritage while flexing big cinematic ambition. Its cast is stacked: William Benson, Lexan Aisosa Peters, Tosin Adeyemi, Etinosa Idemudia, Paul Obazele, Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen, and Alexander Bud join Okujaye to bring this epic world to life.
The international rollout is carefully curated. In the UK, Osamede will screen in Greenwich, Streatham, Milton Keynes, Manchester Great Northern, and Birmingham. In the U.S., audiences in Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, Maryland, and Indianapolis will get a front-row seat.
Omokwe’s return to filmmaking is deeply personal, his first big film attempt didn’t land, but this time he’s sharpened his vision. Osamede is more than entertainment. It is a reclamation of history, myth, and female strength. With this reach into Western cinemas, Nigerian storytelling is making a loud, undeniable statement, ‘our legends deserve the spotlight too’!
Source: NollyWire
