Organisers of the Sundance Film Festival have announced that Benin’s Mami Wata will have its global premiere at the 2023 edition in January.
The upcoming movie is part of the 2023 lineup at the prestigious international film festival. Directed by CJ Obasi, the film was shot in Benin Republic in January 2021 after being in development since 2016.
The film narrates the story of Prisca and Zinwe, daughters of Mama Efe (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.
Produced by Oge Obasi, ‘Mami Wata’ stars Evelyne Ily, Uzoamaka Aniunoh, Emeka Amakeze, Kelechi Udegbe, Rita Edochie and Tough Bone.
Other African films showing at the Sundance Film Festival are Milisuthando Bongela’s ‘Milisuthando’ listed in the World Cinema Documentary and Wale Oyejide’s ‘Bravo Burkina!’ in the NEXT section.
Obasi is no stranger to the festival circuit or international acclaim. His last movie ‘Juju Stories’ won the Boccalino D’oro Award for Best Film at Locarno Film Festival 2021.
He joins an impressive list of remarkable Sundance filmmakers like Nikyatu Jusu, fellow Nigerian Chinonye Chukwu and ‘Black Panther’s Ryan Coogler, who got his big break through the Sundance Film Festival.
The Sundance Film Festival is scheduled to hold from the 19th to the 29th of January, 2023.
