2024 Independent Spirit Awards: C.J Obasi’s Mami Wata bags nomination for best film

Mami Wata, winner of the Sundance Film Festival, has been nominated for Best International Film at the 2024 Independent Spirit Awards.

C.J Obasi, a filmmaker, announced the happy news on Tuesday via Instagram.

“Guys, MAMI WATA has just been nominated for Best International Film for the 2024 Independent Spirit Awards! Is this really happening??? Thank you @filmindependent Jury…You’ve changed history with this one!” He wrote.

Mami Wata was nominated alongside Anatomy of a Fall, directed by Justine Triet; Godland, directed by Hlynur Pálmason; Tótem, directed by Lila Avilés and The Zone of Interest by Jonathan Glazer.

The nomination comes nearly two months after the Nigerian Official Selection Committee (NOSC) for the Best International Feature Film (IFF) category of the Oscars selected Mami Wata to compete in the 96th edition.

The committee said it selected the film for its “relevant theme – multiple generations of women at the forefront of society’s well-being, its unique approach to a story of pre and post-colonial African societies, as well as its technical and artistic excellence.”

Written and directed by C.J. Obasi, the film is an exploration and creative reimagination of the mythology of a titular mermaid-deity of West African folklore, and one which, among other things, celebrates womanhood.