Reviews

C.J. ‘Fiery’ Obasi’s Mami Wata is a gorgeously stylized and pensive retelling of the West African folklore story of the titular deity.

8/10

This year I’ve tried my best to expand my knowledge of some regions that go a bit underseen in world cinema. I can say confidently that I found myself watching more films from Asia this year as I watched films from directors like Satyajit Ray, Jafar Panahi, Chen Kaige, and more. Yet, the grand continent of Africa is one of those regions where I have only logged four films from there on my Letterboxd. I am really interested in the cinematic language and style of African cinema but lack of distribution to the United States kills any chances for me to watch these films. Thanks to the Houston Cinema Arts Festival I was able to watch Nigeria’s submission for the Best International Feature Film category at next year’s Oscars, Mami Wata. I found this to be an enriching experience and loved this film that highlights African folklore with a modern approach.

Mami Wata is written and directed by C.J. ‘Fiery’ Obasi (O-Town, Ojuju) as he brings the story of the mermaid African deity of the same name to life within a modern story filled with warlords, relationships, and family. The film is shot expertly in high contrast black and white cinematography by director photography, Lilis Soares. The film stars Evelyne Ily (Soloum), Uzoamaka Anuinoh (Diiche), Emeka Amakeze (Icheke Oku), Rita Edochie (Love Eternal), and Kelechi Udegbe (Collision). The film is nominated for the Best International Film at the Film Independent Spirit Awards. It made its premiere at this year’s edition of the Sundance Film Festival where it won the Grand Jury Prize and World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Lilis Soares’ cinematography. Tunde Jugede who worked in the music department for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever composes its rich score.

Every frame of Mami Wata drew me more and more into the atmosphere of this film. Its textured and beautiful high contrast cinematography highlights every detail within the frames of the film. I loved especially any time we were near or on the beach. The way that the black and white captures that is gorgeous to replay in my head. Evelyne Ily is downright jaw dropping in her performance as the deity. Every second we spent with her I grew a multitude of appreciation for the intricacies of her character. I loved the music as well as it really sets the mood up against the cinematography to really create this authentic West African landscape in Mami Wata.

Obasi’s Mami Wata sadly did not make The Academy’s shortlist for the Best International Feature Film but i wish it all the luck at the Spirit Awards. Mami Wata is unlike anything I’ve ever seen and one of the best films of the year. I can’t wait to watch whatever C.J. ‘Fiery’ Obasi has in store for his career. I am eagerly and patiently waiting to see this very impressive filmmaker continue to tell his stories. Make sure to watch Mami Wata when it makes its way to a screen near you.

Jude Chehab’s Q is a breathtakingly complex documentary that looks at the intricacies of a matriarchal religious order in the lives of three generations of women.

8/10

Documentaries are an essential part of any film festival I have covered whether it was films like A House Made of Splinters, All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, or Clean Slate. These are some of the best documentaries I’ve had the pleasure of watching at festivals like Nashville Film Festival, Sundance, and of course, Houston Cinema Arts Festival. I love watching documentaries because they provide a different outlook than narrative filmmaking. Now, there are some that are not as impactful as others but I think it is truly special when a documentary can blend narrative and documentary to create something truly remarkable. That’s what films like The Eternal Memory did for me this year and I am proud to say that Q does that and more.

Q is directed by Jude Chehab in her documentary feature film debut. Jude Chehab centers the film around the effects this matriarchal religious organization had on her mother, grandmother, and of course herself. It’s an examination of these three generations of women and what especially the head of the organization meant for them. Now, I need to be completely honest here because I feel like this is a very important thing to bring up before I continue on with my review. I do not mean to single out Q at all with this because I genuinely do think this is an incredible film that everyone should watch. As many of you know, I am visually impaired which hinders my ability to be able to read subtitles but I don’t let this ruin how many films I watch. I love international films but most of the time, I have to consume these films at home as it’s easier to read subtitles when they’re right in front of your face. I’ve long noticed this problem surrounding accessibility and it is not in any way exclusive to Q. At this point, I am begging filmmakers and distributors to please make your subtitles more accessible. I could not see a good amount of these subtitles because the white font with no stroke/border around it would blend in with colors and lighting in the film. This affected the way I experienced this film especially when it came to understanding what is happening in the film. I had the pleasure of exchanging some messages with Jude Chehab and she assured me that she would be changing this in the next DCP file, so thank you so much to Jude Chehab for listening to my concerns. Disabled moviegoers have long been ignored by the industry and I want to make sure everyone is able to consume the films they watch.

Nonetheless, Q is an incredible documentary and I fell completely in love with various aspects of the film. I loved the visual language that made the film feel very nostalgic. Every frame is crafted with so much consideration. Chehab uses a lot of archival footage of her childhood which helped me understand more of what the organization was like. Everyone is given the same amount of time to discuss the topic at hand. Of course, I was very drawn to the mother’s point of view but also including the father’s opinions presented an interesting outlook. Jude Chehab’s Q asks many questions that are worth noting. What does it mean to be devoted to your faith? How does unrequited love make us feel? I’m not sure we will ever have the answers to these questions but Q reminds us that we have to find them together as a community. I am interested to see what Chehab makes next. Q is one of the best films of the year and easily one of my favorite documentaries of this year. Make sure to watch this film whenever it makes its way to a screen near you.