“What is an epic film?” This was the question that dominated the discourse when producer-director, Lancelot Imasuen, set out in his introduc­tion to the topic, “The Challenges of Making a Historical Film in Nollywood: Invasion 1897 as a Case Study.”
He was the guest speaker at the August edition of the Filmmakers’ Forum organized by the Nollywood Studies Centre, School of Media Communication, Pan Atlantic University, Victoria Island Lagos. Imasuen, who spoke at length about his new film, Invasion 1897 –a film based on the invasion of the Benin Kingdom by the British –noted that the genre of the epic film is common worldwide, but the term is largely misrepresented in Nigeria.
He said that people erroneously see it as just “a style of filmmaking with large scale, sweeping scope and spectacle often transporting the viewer to settings of old.” According to the ace producer, “Those who hold this view consequently equate the epic to a showing of mud houses, large crowds, and people dressed in raffia palm skirts. But the true epic is not limited to this; rather, it deals with themes that are of historical, national, religious, or legendary importance and uses an elevated style to celebrate heroic accomplishments.Imasuen disclosed that his desire to make epic style films was motivated by the wish to draw out important events from the past, and to relate the problems and solutions of the past to the present realities. Speaking on the challenges of making a historical film in Nigeria, he said: “One must begin by considering the general problems of the country and the peculiar problems that face average Nigerian filmmaker.
“The Nigerian filmmaker has to contend with the lack of access to public places for shootings, absence of funding from financial institutions, drought of trained film professionals, and the non-existence of structures, such as sound stages and film villages. All of these make it particularly challenging to produce a historical film in Nigeria,” he said.
In a bid to make an epic film appealing and believable, the filmmaker said it requires in-depth research in order to come up with authentic period costumes, makeup and scenery. This, he said, involves well-trained professionals who know what to do and can effectively create the right atmosphere for the film. He regretted that the majority of filmmakers in the Nigerian film industry had not had the opportunity to sit in a film class. “Most of them were largely passion driven. And the required skills were often hard to come by,” he added.
But the absence of funding turns out to be one of the greater challenges…. “A convincing epic film is necessarily a big budget film. We have spent an estimated six million Naira on research for Invasion 1897. Beside the recreation of the historical period concerned required a heavy investment in the construction of props.”

Filmmakers chart path on historic films