The wins for CJ Obasi’s ‘Mami Wata’ are definitely rolling in following its feature at the Sundance festival in January 2023.
The film which recently premiered at the Pan-African Film & TV Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO) won 3 awards namely PRIX DE LA CRITIQUE Pauline S. Vieyra (African Critics Award), MEILLEUR IMAGE (Cinematography Award) and finally the MEILLEUR DÉCOR (Set Design Award) while there.
In his acceptance speech, the Director CJ Obasi thanked the Fictions feature jury led by Dorra Bouchoucha, the African Critics Association for the honor. He also appreciated Alex Moussa Sawadogo, FESPACO and his team.
Mami Wata, which is named after the African mythical water spirit, is set in the village of Iyi, whose inhabitants pay tribute to and seek guidance from the healer and spiritual intermediary Mama Efe, played by veteran Nigerian screen star Rita Edochie. After a mysterious illness begins to claim the lives of Iyi’s young, a local man (Kelechi Udegbe) starts to sow doubts about the healer’s ability to protect them.
With the arrival of a rebel warlord (Emeka Amakeze) on the run from his violent past, and the death of Mama Efe, a new status quo emerges in the village. It falls to the healer’s daughter, Zinwe (Uzoamaka Aniunoh), and protégé, Prisca (Evelyne Ily), to save the people of Iyi, setting up a conflict between the villagers’ traditional beliefs and a more modern, Western way of life.
The movie has received critical acclaim during its festival run from The Hollywood Reporter, CNN, Variety amongst many and currently maintains a score of 100% on review-aggregation website, Rotten Tomatoes.
No word has been heard about its Nigerian release, but Xplore will be on the look out for it..
Have you seen the trailer for the feature?
Check it out here:
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