Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen
Nigerian film producer
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Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen (born 20 June 1971) is a Nigerian film director and film producer.[1] Popularly known as De' Guvnor of Nollywood. He is an Edo-born filmmaker who has produced over five hundred films and counting.[2] He is well known for his 2014 epic historical film, Invasion 1897.[3]
Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen | |
|---|---|
| Born | 20 June 1971 (age 55) Benin City, Nigeria |
| Citizenship | Nigerian |
| Occupations | director, producer |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Spouse | Aimua Lancelot Imasuen |
Education and career
He studied at the University of Port Harcourt.[4] Imasuen has worked in the film industry since 1995, mainly as a film director and producer. He currently lives in Lagos.
His films feature unexplored aspects of the African experience including tribalism, witchcraft, crime, poverty, religion, and folk beliefs.[5]
Imasuen has filmed an epic movie titled Nogbaisi Ovonramwen in 2013. The film was about Oba Ovonramwen, the last independent Oba of Benin.[6] In 2025, he celebrated his thirty years in the industry.[4] He launched his memoir A Trip in Motion, on November 27, 2025, at Alliance Française/Mike Adenuga Centre, Ikoyi, Lagos, with dignitaries in attendance.[7][8]
Nollywood Babylon
In 2008, a Canadian documentary, Nollywood Babylon, co-directed by Ben Addelman and Samir Mallal, and produced by AM Pictures and the National Film Board of Canada in association with the Documentary Channel, followed Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen while he was shooting his 157th film Bent Arrows.[9]
The documentary played in the Official Competition at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2009.[10] Bent Arrows was released into the Nigerian home market in 2010.
Selected filmography
- The Soul That Sinneth (1999)
- The Last Burial (2000)
- Issakaba (2001)
- Private Sin (2003)
- Enslaved (2004)
- Moment of Truth (2005)
- Games Men Play (2006)
- Yahoo Millionaire (2007)
- Sister's Love (2008)
- Entanglement (2009)
- Reloaded (2009)
- Home in Exile (2010)
- Bent Arrows (2010)
- A Private Storm (2010)
- Adesuwa (2012)
- Invasion 1897 (2014)
- ABCs of Death 2 (Segment L is for Legacy) (2014)
- "ATM (Authentic Tentative Marriage)" (2016)
- Love Upon the Hills (2018)
- Rant Queens (2019)
- Enakhe (2020)[11]
- Mutual Benefits (2021)
- For the Love of Isiuwa (2021)
- Gbege (2022)[12]
- Love Under Repair (2023)
- Senior Man (2023)
- Issakaba Returns (2024)
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award ceremony | Category | Film | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Best of Nollywood Awards | Lifetime Achievement Award | N/a | Won | [13] |
| 2020 | 2020 Best of Nollywood Awards | Director of the Year | WEDE | Nominated | [14] |
| 2021 | Honorary Academic Chair | Benson Idahosa University | Honorary | ||
| 2025 | 2025 African Celebrate | Diamond Recognition Award | Honorary | [15] | |
| 2025 | African Movie Academy Award | Pillar of African Stories | Honorary | [15] | |
| 2025 | Abuja International Film Festival | Industry Special Recognition Award | Honorary | [15] |
