By being steadfast to his vision to explore African political and religious realities, C.J. ‘Fiery’ Obasi’s Mami Wata is swimming outside its national shores.
The first C. J. ‘Fiery’ Obasi-directed film I saw, Suffer the Witch, is from a collaborative anthology, Juju Stories, made by the Surreal 16 Collective (S16) trio: Abba T. Makama, Michael Omonua, and Obasi. The three-part anthology, featuring Yam, Love Potion, and Suffer Not a Witch, explores well-reiterated Nigerian folklore and myths. Although at that time, I was unaware of the S16 Collective kinship with Dogme 95 film movement, and their creed which outlines their filmmaking convention, I could notice how different the films were from other familiar Nollywood titles. The films, at first glance, quickly established the wanderlust and distinct filmmaking approach of the filmmakers. And their brave and well-written stories have constantly attracted attention.
Their films—Rehearsal, The Lost Okoroshi, O-Town, Ojuju, Green White Green—more like the filmmakers, attracted a cult-like followership. Despite the critical acclaim Juju Stories received, including a mention in the New York Times list of Five Horror Movies to Stream Now, word-of-mouth praise for its uniqueness from other Nollywood films, an attestation to the S16 collective brilliance, the film attracted minimal mainstream attention in Nigeria...
