Info
Logline
A breathtaking black-and-white genre film from Nigeria that sheds light on traditional belief systems while raising universal questions of identity.
The village of Iyi in West Africa worships a water deity called Mami Wata. When children disappear under mysterious circumstances, the local people are caught up in a violent religious conflict. Two women, Zinwe and Prisca, devise a plan to restore the glory of their deity and save their village. But to do so, they must first come to terms with their loss and learn to trust each other.
Meet the director
C.J. 'Fiery' Obasi
C. J. "Fiery" Obasi grew up in the small town of Owerri in southeastern Nigeria, earned a degree in computer science, and then became a full-time filmmaker. His zero-budget debut film, OJUJU, was named best Nigerian film at the 2014 Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF). His short film HELLO, RAIN, was first screened at the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen in 2018 and was featured by CNN and BBC as representative of advances in Afrofuturism. Obasi is a co-founder of Surreal16, a new-wave cinema collective which has thus far produced two anthology projects, VISIONS (2017) and JUJU STORIES (2021). His latest film, MAMI WATA, had its world premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, where it received the Special Jury Award for cinematography.