By Melanie Goodfellow – DEADLINE

Nigeria has submitted CJ Obasi’s Sundance title Mami Wata as its candidate for the Best International Feature Film in the 96th Academy Awards. Inspired by West African mermaid folklore and mythology, the black-and-white features stars Rita Edochie as a goddess facing waning influence in a remote struggling village.

Uzoamaka Aniunoh stars as her devoted daughter and Evelyne Ily Juhen as a skeptical protégé. The deadline for submissions for Best International Feature Film was on October 2, but a number of countries are only announcing their selection now.

Home to Nollywood, Nigeria boasts Africa’s biggest film industry, but the country has yet to enjoy Oscar glory. The fact that many of its films are in the country’s official language of English has made it difficult for the country to submit films for Best International Film Festival.

Its first-ever entry Lionheart in 2019 was disqualified because of the high percentage of English in the film. However, an AMPAS decision to accept films in Pidgin English has opened the door for more Nigerian entries. Its second entry, for the 2021 awards, was the Hausa-language drama The Milkmaid. There was no submission for the 2022 and 2023 awards.

Director CJ Obasi

The Nigerian Official Selection Committee (NOSC) said Mami Wata won the highest number of votes from the 14-member committee. It said 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.

Mami Wata debuted in Nigerian cinemas in September having made history as the first Nigerian film to world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival and won the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for cinematography. Dekanalog has North American rights and is due to the launch in U.S. on October 20. AYA will release the picture in the UK in November. Alief handles international sales rights.

The feature is also a frontrunner 19th edition of the Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) taking place on October 29, with nominations in 12 categories. Pointing to the film as a shining example of great work, NOSC chairperson, Stephanie Linus, urged Nigerian filmmakers to keep enhancing their skills and elevating production to global standards.

“I’m excited to announce a milestone in our NOSC journey: our first Pidgin film submission to the Academy, marking our commitment to diversity and global representation,” the veteran actress said.