Award-winning Nigerian action-fantasy film based on African folklore, presented as part of the Cinema Africa! strand at Hyde Park Picture House.
Mami Wata is coming to Hyde Park Picture House on Tuesday 20 October, as part of the cinema's Cinema Africa! strand. It's a Nigerian action-fantasy film from director C.J. 'Fiery' Obasi, his third feature, and it's built from African folklore. The story is set in the matriarchal ocean village of Iyi, where the West African water deity Mami Wata reigns through the village leader, Mama Efe. The screening will be introduced by Chim'Di.
Visually, it's a bold choice: shot entirely in black-and-white, it carries an oceanic soundscape and a hypnotic score. That look didn't go unnoticed—it picked up the Sundance Film Festival World Cinema Cinematography Award (Dramatic) and the African Critics Award for Cinematography and Set Design at FESPACO in 2023. Obasi is described as part of a new wave of Nigerian filmmakers, and the film itself is presented as a futuristic fable that fuses spiritual beliefs with inter-generational tensions.
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It's a bit of a crossover, so if you're usually more into fantasy than world cinema, this might be a good place to start. The Cinema Africa! strand at the Picture House is bringing in work from across the continent, and this is one of the titles on the bill. The session starts at 20:20, and tickets are £6.00 or £10.50 depending on your booking.
