The Nigerian dream perhaps is to win; to win everything, to surpass one hurdle while calculating how to surpass the next two. The music industry is proof of that, one day P-Square were celebrating how they went to the Kora Awards on ‘Story’ and now the country is on a regular run at the Grammy Awards. Likewise in Nollywood, after celebrating wins across the continent; the Oscar entries have started rolling in. And it’s beautiful to see. 

The first of these attempts came in 2019. Genevieve Nnaji’s ‘Lionheart’ was the film selected to represent Nigeria for the Academy awards for Best international Feature film however, on 4 November 2019, the Academy disqualified Nigeria's entry, as the majority of the film's dialogue is in English.

Like every Nigerian miracle you’ve ever heard, something happens. You might want to call it a glitch in the system. This miracle happens in the following year when, the Nigerian Oscar Selection Committee announced that AMPAS would allow films that are primarily in Pidgin English to be eligible for submission. 

In 2020, Desmond Ovbiagele's ‘The Milkmaid’ was selected to represent Nigeria in the Best International Feature Film category. The film, a Hausa language-based thriller on insurgency, especially as it affects women and children in Sub-Saharan Africa; lost out on its run when it didn’t make it to the official shortlist. There were no attempts in 2021, and in 2022; despite three Yoruba language submissions, Nigeria had no representatives at the Oscar. 

This year however, the proverbial ‘levels don change’ has taken center stage as Nigeria’s entry for International Best Feature film can be aptly described as ‘Mami Wata Power’. CJ Fiery Obasi’s ‘Mami Wata’ is a hypnotic weave of brilliant storytelling and otherworldly cinematography that I daresay, has almost never been seen in Nollywood. And all the elements blend in together seamlessly, as the film follows a seaside village where a water goddess begins to lose her influence over the community largely due to the power of external and internal forces.

The film pays tribute to African Folklore, while depicting the influence of ‘modern ideas’ on the traditional African society. On a personal note, the film is thematically reminiscent of Achebe’s ‘Things Fall Apart’, as both this film and that book, seem to portray similar ideas as regards the impact of ‘modernity’ on the African belief system and way of life.  The casting is not unnecessarily glossy, the characters exist in their perfection and the actors portray them in totality. Rita Edochie, Kelechi Udegbe, Uzoamaka Aniunoh, Evelyne Ily Juhen, Emeka Amakeze, and Jakob Kerstan are perfect for the roles they play.

They understood the assignment.

The film made history as the first Nigerian Film to Premiere at Sundance Film Festival, and won the special jury award for cinematography for Brazilian DOP Lílis Soares’ striking work. That’s not all; it has picked up 12 nominations at the Africa Movies Academy Awards (AMAA).  

The Nigerian Official Selection Committee (NOSC) said Mami Wata won the highest number of votes from the 14-member committee. Furthermore, it stated that the film was selected for its relevant theme and unique approach to a story of pre and post-colonial African societies. The committee also praised the film for its technical and artistic excellence. 

Despite all of the gleaming reviews and achievements of this film, perhaps Nigeria is undeserving of all of the potential narratives ‘Mami Wata’ brings to its film industry. While ‘Mami Wata’ proves Obasi can make a great, artsy, and impressive film, like all things from the country; NIGERIA HAPPENED TO IT. 

Like the proverbial or originally scriptural prophet who is never accepted in his household, ‘Mami Wata’ made only ₦2,424,725 during the opening weekend of its theatrical run in Nigeria. According to the exchange rates at the time of writing, this only amounts to a little above $2,400 USD.

The earnings are a consequence of an ‘alleged’ sabotage by a number of forces responsible for the marketing of this film. According to an article by OkayAfrica’s Daniel Okey, the story is that the film’s distributor ‘FilmOne Entertainment’; didn’t make maximum marketing efforts towards this film. They didn’t do press screenings, a premiere, or any sort of digital marketing campaign. Information about this film was rather spread across film communities via Obasi’s posts on social media.

At the forefront of constant reminders and updates about the film was Nollywire, a Nollywood focused media company, whose efforts probably surpassed those of FilmOne as regards getting audiences ready for Obasi’s surreal film. 

You might think that was all that made Mami Wata’s financially disappointing theatrical run look bad. That’s not all oh. There are further remarks that imply that FilmOne couldn’t secure conveninent showtimes for the screening of the film in cinemas. Filmgoers also said that upon arriving at the correct time, the cinemas cited a certain unnamed ‘technical issue’ with the film. In the nation’s capital, it was revealed that there was only one screen showing the film and even there, a technical issue came up.

This revelation was made when film Journalist Anita Eboigbe took to X (formerly known as Twitter); to express her displeasure about the situation. Her tweet read “A very shady thing is happening with the Mami Wata movie showtimes, and I’m usually calm, but not this time. There is only one screen showing the movie in the whole of Abuja. We got there this evening, and they said there are technical issues, so they can’t show it” 

‘Mami Wata’ continues to receive golden reviews in the international community but perhaps in Nigeria itself, the mainstream audience will never understand that the film was (is) a ‘gamechanger’, and while the filmmakers are not complaining, it hurts. It hurts to see that, what might have marked a new era of storytelling in Nollywood; might never get the glory it deserves at home. Perhaps this heralds a new movement, like in Mami Wata, perhaps Nollywood’s ‘Mama Efe’ might be failing. Perhaps, a Jasper can wash up on our shores. And maybe when the centre fails to hold, things will fall apart. 

But for now, Nigeria hopes for glory. Without seeing the film, we all have to believe in it. To believe that commercial success might not be the yardstick for the trueness of Cinema. I have not seen Mami Wata but I believe in it, but that’s story for another day. You should too, believe it; somehow that Oscar will come. As long as we believe in the Nigerian dream, it will happen. Perhaps the Nigerian dream is to win; to win everything, even an Oscar!

P.S:

This article was written while listening to Odumodublvck’s ‘Eziokwu’, if you’re still not sure whether to listen to it; I wrote something that might help you make a decision. You can read that here: https://t.co/lT4zg0jZn8