CJ Obasi’s ‘Mami Wata’ sweeps awards at FESPACO 2023

Here, the black and white drama continued its awards sweep by picking up three trophies at the festival themed, “African Cinema and Culture of Peace.”

Mami Wata won the PRIX DE LA CRITIQUE Pauline S. Vieyra (African Critics Award) at the Special Awards Gala.

Next, the drama received the MEILLEUR IMAGE (Cinematography Award) and finally the MEILLEUR DÉCOR (Set Design Award) at the Closing Awards Ceremony on March 4, 2023, in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

Mami Wata, which took seven years to develop and complete, is named after the African mythical water spirit.

Set in the mythical West African village of Iyi, the movie follows Prisca and Zinwe, daughters of Mama Efe. The latter is an intermediary between the Mermaid goddess and the people of Iyi, a small fishing village in West Africa. Their destinies change when Jasper, an escaped mercenary takes over Iyi.

The movie has received critical acclaim during its festival run and currently maintains a perfect score of 100% on review-aggregation website, Rotten Tomatoes.

With Sundance and FESPACO out of the way, it remains unclear when Mami Wata will start screening in Nigerian cinemas and/or debut on streaming platforms.

Watch a teaser of the highly anticipated ‘Mami Wata’ below: