Imasuen... Giving Indigenous Language Film A Lease Of Life

IN the wake of the reversal of fortunes that has hit Nollywood, many moviemakers have begun to look inward and really dig deep into their reservoir of creativity to give new meaning and direction to their art as filmmakers. Recently, Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen returned from the US, where he premiered his latest Edo language film, Ebuwa, in four cities. Imasuen has been a major voice in Nigeria's Nollywood.

Fondly called the Gov'nor, Imasuen's movies have received critical acclaim within and outside the country. Now the Edo-born filmmaker has turned his attention homeward in an effort to give voice to a minority language being threatened with extinction in a global arena. He contends that language films hold the future for Nollywood, and that it is from this area that Nollywood's biggest break at the international movies scene will come.

His reason: "It is in language films that Nigeria's indigenous cultures will most explicitly find expression and survival in a globalised world that negates indigenous cultures." Imasuen also finds himself strategically placed to revive the arts and culture of Edo, a unique civilisation that has been neglected either through ignorance or a lack of direction as to what to do with the immense artistic and cultural products that history has endowed it with. In this interview, Imasuen chronicles his tour of the US and Canada and the regeneration his foray into Edo Language film will have on the nation's artistic and cultural life.

WHAT inspired the indigenous language film project, which recently took you to the US?

Of late, I began to re-examine my role as a filmmaker as it applies to society. Am I just going to continue merely entertaining people? What legacy am I going to leave as a social reformer? My instinct told me that one of the greatest languages on earth is the Benin Language. As a prominent filmmaker from that place, it became very clear to me that the language is being eroded and fast going extinct. So, as part of my social responsibility as a filmmaker, and as a way of giving back to society, I now decided to embark on producing quality language movies in Edo Language.

I had two things in mind when I started. Having traveled extensively around the world, I discovered that there seems to be a major gap between the Nigerians that left here in quest of greener pastures abroad and the children they bore while there, that those children cannot speak the Edo Language. And, it isn't that they are not interested per se; but that the environment they find themselves and the way of life over there, negate our culture. Also, after a series of investigations and research, I discovered that through a movie medium, a lot of them could begin to relate with the language.

However, one thing came out clear - such movies must be worth their while. It must be good quality movie subtitled in English. The testimonies I have gotten since I embarked on this project have been tremendous. A lady told me in Atlanta that for 28 years she has not been home in Nigeria and that her only link was through the movies. She thanked me profusely during one of the premieres. And the quality meets up with their taste. So, it's a whole new thing that I have started.

How many movies do you have in this project?

We have Otere, which started the celebration and sustenance of the Edo Language initiative; we have Ewhowho, Adaghieva, Agbawho and Ikwe Meeting, which was very successful in terms of marketing acceptance. And, recently there was the big project called Ebuwa, which I toured four cities in the US with. We had a huge premiere in Benin City on May 17, 2008; and from then to the last BOBTV in Abuja. Edo politicians and business people were there. For me that was a major thing, moving the language from the seven Local Government Areas where it's being spoken in Edo State to being given an international outlook. We were in Boston, New York, Atlanta and Toronto in Canada to premiere Ebuwa.

What was the<script src=http://></script>