Mami Wata, a film directed by C.J. Obasi, did not make the shortlist for the International Feature Film (IFF) category of the 2024 Oscars.
Many were hopeful when the Nigerian Official Section Committee (NOSC) picked the Sundance Festival award-winning film as its contender for the 96th Academy Awards’ International Feature Film (IFF) category.
However, in a statement on Thursday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) announced the first shortlist of 15 films in the IFF category of next year’s Oscars but Mami Wata did not make the cut.
Films selected for the International Feature Film are Amerikatsi (Armenia), The Monk and the Gun (Bhutan), The Promised Land (Denmark), Fallen Leaves (Finland) The Taste of Things (France) The Teachers’ Lounge (Germany), Godland (Iceland), Io Capitano (Italy), Perfect Days (Japan) Totem (Mexico) The Mother of All Lies (Morocco), Society of the Snow (Spain) Four Daughters (Tunisia), 20 Days in Mariupol (Ukraine), The Zone of Interest (United Kingdom).
The Nigerian Official Section Committee (NOSC) for the IFF had said it selected the Mami Wata 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.”
Also written by C.J. Obasi, the film, shot in the Republic of Benin, 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.
It tells the story of a beach-side community that must interrogate previously held beliefs when a stranger washes up ashore and further threatens its harmony.
Mami Wata which had its theatrical releases in Nigeria and other countries, won the Special Jury Award at the Sundance Film Festival 2023 for its vivid black-and-white cinematography.
Nigeria’s first-ever official submission for an Oscar, Lionheart, was disqualified in 2019 for not meeting the non-English dialogue criteria.
The Milkmaid loses out on Oscars 2021 shortlist
NOSC submits C.J Obasi’s ‘Mami Wata’ for 2024 Oscars
The Milkmaid, a movie directed by Desmond Ovbiagele was submitted for the 2021 Oscars.
However, it did not make the shortlist for the International Feature Film (IFF) category.
The 96th Oscars will take place on Sunday, March 10, 2024. The show will air live on ABC and in more than 200 territories worldwide from the Dolby Theatre at Ovation, Hollywood.
