Feted abroad, ignored at home: The story of Mami Wata’s voyage to Oscars | Arts and Culture

Lagos, Nigeria – On October 15, when C J Obasi heard that his movie Mami Wata had been formally chosen as Nigeria’s entry for the 2024 Oscars, he was elated.

“It felt nice. I feel we undoubtedly deserve it, and everybody labored so arduous on this movie and bled a lot for it,” Obasi informed Al Jazeera. “It’s all the time an enormous deal once you get what you deserve right here. I by no means take it with no consideration simply because I deserve it. I’m tremendous grateful to the Nigerian Oscar choice committee.”

Mami Wata, Obasi’s third feature-length movie, is a black-and-white fantasy thriller impressed by the wealthy folklore of coastal West Africa. Shot in 2021 and launched in January, it has a operating time of 107 minutes. The title is a Nigerian pidgin reference to the mermaid or omnipotent water goddess believed to offer therapeutic, wealth and safety to her worshippers. The movie can be in Nigerian pidgin.

Set within the fictional village of Iyi and shot within the Republic of Benin, Mami Wata is a very West African affair. It’s the story of two sisters, Prisca (performed by Ivorian actress Evelyne Ily) and Zinwe (performed by Nigerian actress Uzoamaka Aniunoh) who attempt to deliver concord again to their seaside village which is break up between two teams: one which believes of their present chief, a messenger for the water goddess, and one other that desires to ascertain a brand new system with out the deity.

Obasi says he started writing Mami Wata in March 2016 and over the subsequent 5 years, wrote the story throughout 10 drafts.

On the worldwide scene, Mami Wata has already been a success, screening in a minimum of 15 festivals globally. In 2021, it made the ultimate lower within the 78th Venice International Film Festival in 2021. In January 2023, Mami Wata had its world premiere on the Sundance Movie Competition and received the Particular Jury Prize for Cinematography.

The discharge has additionally include important acclaim internationally. Selection Journal referred to as the movie “a stark black-and-white Oscar entry that weaves a bewitching fable with haunting pictures”.

“This visually stunning and charismatically acted movie is a fierce expressionist reverie or parable of energy, shot in a lustrous, high-contrast black and white,” wrote The Guardian in its evaluate.

Finally, Mami Wata was submitted by Nigeria for the Academy Award for Finest Worldwide Characteristic Movie – the nation’s third-ever entry.

The street to the Oscars

Lagos-based movie critic Oris Aigbokhaevbolo says Mami Wata was the one alternative for the 2024 Oscars.

“It already has worldwide publicity,” he mentioned. “So a part of the arduous work has been carried out. Once more, no different movie in non-English from Nigeria matches the size demanded by the Oscars. Mami Wata is simply extra thoughtfully carried out than its friends.”

However the street to its choice as Nigeria’s entry for the Oscars was blighted by a lukewarm reception at house.

On September 8, Mami Wata made its debut in Nigeria. In accordance with What Saved Me Up, a Nigerian movie weblog, the premiere got here at a time when there have been no main competing movies. Nonetheless, through the opening weekend, it was tough to observe the movie because of inconsistency in showtimes at cinemas.

Esther Nwajiaku, a Lagos-based content material creator, mentioned it took two journeys to the cinema earlier than she might watch the movie. “The movie confirmed for less than two weeks, and with largely ridiculous time slots,” she informed Al Jazeera. “One of the best probability I bought to see it was by 12pm on a Sunday on the FilmHouse cinema in Surulere. The primary time I went with mates to see the movie on the similar cinema in Surulere, it didn’t present.”

The typical size of time that movies spend in Nigerian cinemas is between 4 to 6 weeks, although some movies keep as much as eight weeks. However Mami Wata was reportedly pulled from cinemas after lower than three weeks.

Trade insiders say even earlier than and through the brief run, its native distributor, FilmOne, reportedly did little or no advertising to advertise the movie. The standard rollout of press screenings, premiere, and different digital advertising push have been visibly absent.

“Proper now, you discover that the UK is doing a a lot better job in pushing the movie than what performed out again house,” mentioned Jerry Chiemeke, a London-based lawyer and movie critic who described the promotion as abysmally poor.

“How do you set such a extremely anticipated movie in tight morning slots the place viewership might be low, and even with these slots, individuals tried seeing the movie they usually have been informed that it’s “merely not exhibiting”? he requested.

FilmOne didn’t reply to Al Jazeera’s request for remark.

Obasi declined to talk on screening points the movie encountered in Nigeria, saying he would achieve this at a later date when he’s prepared. “For now, I’m simply having fun with the theatrical run throughout a number of territories world wide,” he says.

Nollywood’s style dynamics

Some critics say the case of Mami Wata’s botched showings in Nigeria reaffirms the favored notion that business movies in Nollywood are inclined to overshadow the range supplied by area of interest or arthouse filmmakers as a result of the amount of promotion and distribution for the previous vastly outstrips that for the latter.

For Aigbokhaevbolo, arthouse movies don’t stand an opportunity in Nigeria. “The care and considerate promotion they get in different climes are absent in Nigeria. The viewers isn’t as developed,” he mentioned.

The information appears to help this: the highest-grossing movies on the Nigerian field workplace are comedies. They’re additionally usually extensively publicised and have an prolonged time in cinemas. Based mostly on knowledge from the Cinema Exhibitors Affiliation of Nigeria (CEAN), 5 of the highest incomes Nigerian movies of all time embrace Battle on Buka Road (2022), a comedy-drama that earned N655 million ($524,000), Omo Ghetto: The Saga (2020) earned N636 million ($508,800), The Marriage ceremony Occasion (2016) earned N452 million ($361,600), The Marriage ceremony Occasion 2 (2017) earned N433 million ($346,400), and Chief Daddy earned N387 million ($309,600) on the field workplace. None of them has obtained as a lot reward from critics as Mami Wata.

However not everyone seems to be satisfied.

Anita Eboigbe, co-founder of media outlet In Nollywood, doesn’t consider in style Nollywood genres overshadow arthouse movies however says it’s a case of what’s extra accessible to the viewers.

“If the viewers finds a kind of style extra accessible, they may develop to love it,” she mentioned. “Whether it is arduous for the viewers to construct a relationship with a selected style, they won’t be simply drawn to it.”

Eboigbe additional explains that a number of elements affect what pursuits the viewers, together with what business stakeholders really feel is worthwhile or unprofitable.

The area of interest or arthouse labels have additionally affected the way in which sure movies are obtained and promoted, says Obasi. “These labels simply give the [industry] cabals the excuse to regurgitate the identical narrative. As a result of as soon as you set that label on it, the on a regular basis viewers doesn’t need to go close to it as a result of they suppose it’s past them,” he mentioned. “Attempt to problem the viewers with a very good story, and the promise of an incredible cinematic expertise, and see what occurs. That is what they’re afraid to do.”

In the meantime, Mami Wata remains to be opening in cinemas the world over, with anticipated premieres in Germany and Austria in January 2024. The movie crew additionally says its theatrical launch is anticipated quickly in a number of markets together with the US and Switzerland.

The movie’s followers have been hoping it could fare higher than Nigeria’s earlier Oscar entries. In 2019, Lionheart, Nigeria’s first entry – which was co-written by Obasi – was disqualified due to its English dialogue whereas the second entry, The Milkmaid (2020) didn’t make the shortlist in 2021.

However the Academy Awards introduced a shortlist on Thursday that didn’t embrace Mami Wata, disappointing many who had been backing it.

Nonetheless, Chiemeke says the movie introduced a special flavour in contrast with earlier entries.

“Mami Wata gives a conduit between outdated and new, digging deep into Nigerian folklore whereas deploying a contemporary method to storytelling,” he mentioned. “It’s our greatest shot but, our most reasonable.”