Mami Wata
- Director(s)
- C.J. 'Fiery' Obasi
- Country
- Nigeria
- France
- United Kingdom
- Year
- 2023
- Duration
- 107 minutes
- Language
- Fon
- English
- Subtitles
- English
- Format
- DCP
In the oceanside village of Iyi, the revered Mama Efe (Rita Edochie) acts as an intermediary between the people and the all-powerful water deity Mami Wata. But when a young boy is lost to a virus, Efe’s devoted daughter Zinwe (Uzoamaka Aniunoh) and skeptical protégé Prisca (Evelyne Ily Juhen) warn Efe about unrest among the villagers. With the sudden arrival of a mysterious rebel deserter named Jasper (Emeka Amakeze), a conflict erupts, leading to a violent clash of ideologies and a crisis of faith for the people of Iyi.
C.J. “Fiery” Obasi’s potent modern fable deploys vivid monochromatic black-and-white cinematography, rich sound design, and a hypnotic score in a folk-futurist style both earthy and otherworldly. Obasi depicts a pitched battle between opportunistic militants promising technological progress and a matriarchal spiritual order living in fragile harmony with the ocean. Mami Wata transports us to a place that seems both suspended in time and perhaps running out of time, as the threats of modern life wash up on its shores.
*Sundance Film Festival 2023
*Fantasia 2023
- Director(s)
- C.J. 'Fiery' Obasi
- Country
- Nigeria
- France
- United Kingdom
- Year
- 2023
- Duration
- 107 minutes
- Language
- Fon
- English
- Subtitles
- English
- Format
- DCP