The time a water goddess mesmerised Sandton
A glimpse into C.J. Obasi’s vision in directing Mami Wata.
The Johannesburg Film Festival has come and gone, though the experiences availed while engaging with original, captivating films is one Joburg film lovers will treasure for a lifetime.
Among the life-changing titles shown over the festival’s five-day lifespan was Mami Wata – a moving Nigerian film which tackled the sci-fantasy genre in an authentic, aesthetically pleasing way.
Mami Wata follows a mother and her two daughters’ efforts to save their village from trouble swept in from the sea. A rebel named Jasper is found by Prisca, the Village elder Mama Efe’s adopted daughter. Mama Efe is the village’s intermediary with Mami Wata – the water goddess. Mama Efe is unable to heal villagers when her biological daughter Zinwe steals her sacred wrist-shells. This makes way for Jasper’s ambitions: Jasper promises the village development through Western education, hospitals and roads: instead, he buys guns with their tithes.
Cast member and executive producer Kelechi Udegbe, speaking at the Sandton City’s Ster-Kinekor screening on March 1, shared the director C.J. Obasi’s vision and inspiration in creating this film.
“In the director’s words, he was at the beach sometime when he fell into a trance or a dream-like vision: he saw a girl walking towards the water. He followed her to the water. When he looked into the water, he saw an image of someone who looked a lot like Mami Wata,” Udegbe said. “Everything he saw was in black and white; that was the birth of the dream. He saw the water goddess, and he saw everything in black and white. People kicked against it because there was a film in black and white in Africa. The director stuck to his vision, and that’s the stroke of genius.”
The film was well-received that evening, drawing great engagement from the audience during the panel discussion.
Advocate Maggie Brown found Mami Wata to defy stereotypes associated with Nollywood productions, and she celebrated the strength of African women portrayed in the film.
“Mami Wata is a film deserving of acclaim and accolades,” Brown commented after the film. “I believe it is a film worthy of academic recognition.”
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