The trailer for Osamede runs just under two minutes, but it wastes no time drawing the viewer into its world
It introduces a historical-fantasy drama rooted in the Benin Kingdom, a moment when British colonial forces threatened the empire’s sovereignty. Rather than retelling the well-known invasion as straightforward history, the film layers in myth and the supernatural. “This is not borrowed mythology. This is ours,” says executive producer Lilian Olubi. “For too long, African stories have been told through Western lenses. Osamede reclaims our narratives and shows young Africans that their greatest superpower is knowing where they come from.”
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At its heart is Osamede (Ivie Okujaye), a young woman prophesied to carry the force of the Aruosa stone, a sacred object that connects humans to the divine. The trailer frames her as both an ordinary child and a chosen figure whose awakening could change the fate of her people. She grows from an orphaned infant, presented in a ritual naming scene, into a determined young fighter. Dialogue snippets reveal the weight she bears: elders tell her she alone holds “the power of the divine,” while a father figure demands obedience even as destiny calls her elsewhere. Her journey is both spiritual and political.
Supporting characters are all around her. An older seer or priestess voices the prophecy that sets the trailer in motion, functioning as a guide. A male rival (William Benson) seeks the stone for himself, suggesting internal conflict within the Benin court. Glimpses of a European officer, costumed in suspenders and colonial whites, signal the external threat of invasion. Together, these figures embody the film’s tensions: tradition versus betrayal, ancestral power versus imperial conquest.
Director James Omokwe calls the project a watershed moment for African cinema. “Every superhero film asks the same question: what would you do with power?” he explains. “But Osamede asks a different question: what if the power was always yours, waiting for you to remember who you are? That’s an African story.” Determined to keep that story authentic, Omokwe shot mainly in Edo language and on location in Edo State, working with Benin historians to capture the kingdom’s spiritual, cultural, and political life.
James Omokwe, whose work has predominantly been in TV production, directs the Edo epic with an eye for scale. Production design draws heavily on Benin’s royal art and costume heritage, featuring beaded crowns, coral necklaces, and earthen compounds, while visual effects lend Osamede’s powers an otherworldly presence.
Written by Lolo Eremie (Tarella), it also stars Lexan Peters, Tosin Adeyemi, Etinosa Idemudia, Paul Obazele, Lancelot Imasuen, and Alexander Bud. Osamede opens in cinemas on October 17.
WKMUp is a media partner of Osamede.
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