MAMI WATA (2023)
When the harmony in a village is threatened by outside elements, two sisters must fight to save their people and restore the glory of a mermaid goddess to the land.
Director & Writer: CJ “Fiery” Obasi
Producer: Oge Obasi
Starring: Evelyne Ily Juhen, Uzoamaka Aniunoh, Emeka Amakeze, Rita Edochie
Cinematography: Lílis Soares
FESTIVALS AND PRIZES
FESTIVALS
2023 — Festival Screenings
- Sundance Film Festival — (United States, 2023)
- Festival Panafricain du Cinéma et de la Télévision de Ouagadougou (FESPACO) — (Burkina Faso, 2023)
- Karlovy Vary International Film Festival — (Czech Republic, 2023)
- Munich International Film Festival (Filmfest München) — (Germany, 2023)
- Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival — (Switzerland, 2023)
- Fantasia International Film Festival — (Canada, 2023)
- Seattle International Film Festival — (United States, 2023)
- New York African Film Festival — (United States, 2023)
- First Look – Museum of the Moving Image — (United States, 2023)
- Whānau Mārama: New Zealand International Film Festival — (New Zealand, 2023)
- Mostra de Cinemas Africanos — (Brazil, 2023)
- New African Film Festival (AFI Silver Theatre) — (United States, 2023)
- African Film Festival Cologne (Afrika Film Festival Köln) — (Germany, 2023)
- Festival Cinémas d’Afrique (Lausanne) — (Switzerland, 2023)
- Eastern Nigeria International Film Festival — (Nigeria, 2023)
2024 — Festival Screenings
- Dublin International Film Festival — (Ireland, 2024)
- Joburg Film Festival — (South Africa, 2024)
- Fantastic Film Festival Australia — (Australia, 2024)
- Fantaspoa – Festival Internacional de Cinema Fantástico de Porto Alegre — (Brazil, 2024)
- Afrikanisches Filmfestival / Cinema Africa Bayreuth — (Germany, 2024)
- Göteborg Film Festival — (Sweden, 2024)
- Women of the Lens × WOW Film Festival (special screening & discussion) — (United Kingdom, 2024)
AWARDS & NOMINATIONS
Sundance Film Festival 2023
• Winner — World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Cinematography (Lílis Soares)
Dublin International Film Festival 2023
• Winner — Dublin Film Critics Award for Best Cinematography (Lílis Soares)
Fantaspoa International Fantastic Film Festival 2024
• Winner — International Competition Best Cinematography (Lílis Soares)
Mashariki African Film Festival 2023
• Winner — Best Feature Film (C.J. Obasi)
Septimius Awards 2024
• Winner — Best Experimental Film (C.J. Obasi)
• Nominee — Best Costume Design (Bunmi Ademilola Fashina)
• Nominee — Best Makeup & Hairstyling (Campbell Precious Arebamen, Funke Olowu, Michael Adewale)
Eastern Nigeria International Film Festival 2023
• Winner — Best Film (Oge Obasi)
• Winner — Best Director (C.J. Obasi)
• Winner — Best Cinematography (Lílis Soares)
NAACP Image Awards 2024
• Nominee — Outstanding International Motion Picture
Film Independent Spirit Awards 2024
• Nominee — Best International Film (C.J. Obasi)
Munich Film Festival 2023
• Nominee — CineRebels Award (C.J. Obasi)
Sundance Film Festival 2023
• Nominee — Grand Jury Prize, World Cinema – Dramatic (C.J. Obasi)
African Movie Academy Awards 2023
• Nominee — Best Film (Oge Obasi)
• Nominee — Best Director (C.J. Obasi)
• Nominee — Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Uzoamaka Power)
• Nominee — Best Screenplay (C.J. Obasi)
• Nominee — Best Editing (Nathan Delannoy)
Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards 2024
• Nominee — Best Indigenous Language – West Africa (C.J. Obasi)
• Nominee — Best Cinematography (Lílis Soares)
• Nominee — Best Writing (C.J. Obasi)
• Nominee — Best Editing (Nathan Delannoy)
• Nominee — Best Sound Design (Samy Bardet)
Festival Panafricain du Cinéma et de la Télévision de Ouagadougou (FESPACO) 2023
• Nominee — Étalon d’Or de Yennenga (Best Fiction Feature Film Competition) (C.J. Obasi)
• Winner — Best Cinematography (Lílis Soares)
• Winner — Best Set Design (C.J. Obasi)
• Winner — African Critics Award (Paulin Soumanou Vieyra Prize) (C.J. Obasi)
OKO International Ethnographic Film Festival 2025
• Nominee — Jury Grand Prize, OKO Global Fiction (C.J. Obasi)
Silk Road International Film Festival 2023
• Nominee — Golden Silk Road Award for Best Film (C.J. Obasi)
WHERE TO WATCH
PRESS & REVIEWS
Obasi said before shooting that he wanted to make an otherworldly, trancelike film. He and his collaborators have achieved that and then some. (by Matt Zoller Seitz)
Mami Wata: bold visual style matches mythic reach in this Nigerian epic (by Oris Aigbokhaevbolo )
Mami Wata review – arresting, stripped-down Nigerian parable of water and power (by Peter Bradshaw)
‘Mami Wata’ Review: Nigeria’s Stark Black-and-White Oscar Entry Weaves Bewitching Fable with Haunting Images (by Murtada Elfadl)
Extensive list of reviews in EN
List of reviews in other languages
Reviews — German (Deutsch)
Cineman — Christopher Diekhaus
https://www.cineman.ch/movie/2023/MamiWata/review.htmlKino-Zeit — Christopher Diekhaus
https://www.kino-zeit.de/film-kritiken-trailer/mami-wata-2023film-rezensionen.de — Simon Zimmermann
https://www.film-rezensionen.de/2023/01/mami-wata/filmdienst.de — Esther Buss
https://www.filmdienst.de/film/details/620000/mami-wataOutNow — Sandro Götz
https://outnow.ch/Movies/2023/MamiWata/Review/Kunstundfilm.de — Bela Akunin
https://www.kunstundfilm.de/2023/01/mami-wata/taz – Die Tageszeitung — Fabian Tietke
https://taz.de/Film-Mami-Wata/!5907301/Der Tele-Stammtisch – Filmkritiken Podcast — (Podcast episode on Mami Wata)
https://tele-stammtisch.de/filme/mami-wata/