Nigerian director C.J. “Fiery” Obasi‘s Mami Wata is a festival first for Sundance. The exquisitely shot film, cast in black and white, is the first Nigerian film to debut at the festival. At the center of the film stands Mama Efe (Rita Edochie), a powerful priestess in the village of Iyi who acts as a medium to the water goddess, Mami Wata.
Across the African diaspora, Mami Wata is known to be a patron of water, money, and beauty. However, in a society where matriarchs have ruled for centuries, Mama Efe no longer has the hold over the villagers she once did. It doesn’t help that her protegees, her daughter Zinwe (Uzoamaka Aniunoh), and her second-in-command, Prisca (Evelyne Ily Juhen), are also having their doubts about Mama Efe’s waning power. Moreover, despite Mama Efe’s interventions, children are dying in the village. However, Efe continues to stall against modern staples like electricity and hospitals, causing the villagers to become increasingly frustrated.
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