Exclusive: Dekanalog has picked up North American rights to the Sundance competition title Mami Wata, the third feature film from Nigerian filmmaker C.J. “Fiery” Obasi.
Based on West African mermaid folklore and mythology, Mami Wata is set in the remote West African village of Iyi, where Mama Efe (Rita Edochie) acts as an intermediary between the people and the all-powerful water deity Mami Wata, the synopsis reads. However, doubt is sown amongst the people when a young boy is lost to a virus, with Efe’s devoted daughter Zinwe (Uzoamaka Aniunoh) and skeptical protégé Prisca (Evelyne Ily Juhen) at a crossroads. The film picked up the Special Jury Award for Best Cinematography at Sundance.
The pic was shot entirely in the Mono Department in Benin, West Africa. The principle cast features Evelyne Ily, Uzoamaka Aniunoh, Kelechi Udegbe, Rita Edochie, and Tough Bone. Further credits include cinematography by Brazillian Dp Lílis Soares,...
Based on West African mermaid folklore and mythology, Mami Wata is set in the remote West African village of Iyi, where Mama Efe (Rita Edochie) acts as an intermediary between the people and the all-powerful water deity Mami Wata, the synopsis reads. However, doubt is sown amongst the people when a young boy is lost to a virus, with Efe’s devoted daughter Zinwe (Uzoamaka Aniunoh) and skeptical protégé Prisca (Evelyne Ily Juhen) at a crossroads. The film picked up the Special Jury Award for Best Cinematography at Sundance.
The pic was shot entirely in the Mono Department in Benin, West Africa. The principle cast features Evelyne Ily, Uzoamaka Aniunoh, Kelechi Udegbe, Rita Edochie, and Tough Bone. Further credits include cinematography by Brazillian Dp Lílis Soares,...
- 5/18/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
In C.J. “Fiery” Obasi’s Mami Wata, black becomes a canvas onto which the director paints a propulsive and vivid narrative. The shade takes on new roles and meanings in this feature about brewing ideological differences in a fictional West African village. Black shadows the waves crashing the shores as one character contemplates the fate of her people. Black sharpens the designs drawn in white paint on the faces of villagers. Black portends the sinister, the vengeful, the hopeful and the renewed faith swirling within an allegory for the slow creep of modernity.
The film takes place in Iyi, the village where Mami Wata, the water deity of West Africa and its diaspora cultures, has reigned via her intermediary Mama Efe (Rita Edochie) for decades. Obasi begins his wily, supernatural tale with generational tension: Mame Efe’s daughter Zinwe (Uzoamaka Aniunoh) storms out of their home after her mother...
The film takes place in Iyi, the village where Mami Wata, the water deity of West Africa and its diaspora cultures, has reigned via her intermediary Mama Efe (Rita Edochie) for decades. Obasi begins his wily, supernatural tale with generational tension: Mame Efe’s daughter Zinwe (Uzoamaka Aniunoh) storms out of their home after her mother...
- 2/1/2023
- by Lovia Gyarkye
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Seven years before its Jan. 23 world premiere in Park City — the first-time that a homegrown Nigerian feature has scored a coveted slot in the World Cinema Dramatic competition at Sundance — C.J. Obasi’s “Mami Wata” began with a vision.
The director was sitting on a West African beach, in between projects and contemplating his next move. Suddenly, an apparition came to him: A mermaid standing on the ocean’s shore, beckoning to a mysterious young woman behind him.
“It was really vivid,” Obasi says. “It was in black and white. In the vision, the goddess’ eyes are red, but also very soft. There was a kindness to her eyes. When I came to, I said, Ok, so my next movie is ‘Mami Wata.’”
What followed was a personal and professional journey to understand that moment on the beach, and to breathe life into a movie about the titular mermaid-deity of West African folklore.
The director was sitting on a West African beach, in between projects and contemplating his next move. Suddenly, an apparition came to him: A mermaid standing on the ocean’s shore, beckoning to a mysterious young woman behind him.
“It was really vivid,” Obasi says. “It was in black and white. In the vision, the goddess’ eyes are red, but also very soft. There was a kindness to her eyes. When I came to, I said, Ok, so my next movie is ‘Mami Wata.’”
What followed was a personal and professional journey to understand that moment on the beach, and to breathe life into a movie about the titular mermaid-deity of West African folklore.
- 1/24/2023
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
The late Denise Dowse’s ’Remember Me: The Mahalia Jackson Story’ has received the most nominations.
The British Urban Film Festival (Buff) has unveiled nominations for the 2022 awards, to be held at London’s Rich Mix on December 2, following the week-long festival.
Remember Me: The Mahalia Jackson Story has received the most nominations. The drama focuses on gospel singer and activist Mahalia Jackson’s unsung contribution to the US civil rights movement in the mid-20th century, and her friendship with Martin Luther King. It is directed by the late Denise Dowse, with US musician Ledisi starring as Jackson – a...
The British Urban Film Festival (Buff) has unveiled nominations for the 2022 awards, to be held at London’s Rich Mix on December 2, following the week-long festival.
Remember Me: The Mahalia Jackson Story has received the most nominations. The drama focuses on gospel singer and activist Mahalia Jackson’s unsung contribution to the US civil rights movement in the mid-20th century, and her friendship with Martin Luther King. It is directed by the late Denise Dowse, with US musician Ledisi starring as Jackson – a...
- 11/14/2022
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
Written and directed by Michael Omonua, "Sun Eje" ("Bleed") is a short crime film that "sheds a spotlight on the illicit trade of body parts in Lagos, Nigeria. At heart, it tells the story of Nelson who loses his job and so turns to a life of crime." The film was shot on location in Lagos and stars Samuel Ajibola ("Shuga," "The Johnsons"), Kelechi Udegbe ("Ojuju"), and Tolulope Fagbemi. Omonua has produced seven short films and created Sun Eje as a proof of concept for his feature, "Limbs," which is set in the same environment. See the short in its entirety below. ...
- 11/19/2014
- by Jai Tiggett
- ShadowAndAct
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