How to Cut Weeks of Shooting and Still Win at Sundance with ‘Mami Wata’ Director C.J. “Fiery” Obasi and Cinematographer Lílis Soares

2023-03-17

In this episode, No Film School’s GG Hawkins speaks with director C.J. Obasi and Cinematographer Lílis Soares about the film, Mami Wata. They explain their shared vision in creating a film about people of color. They also share how they dealt with challenges like filming the ocean at night and losing almost three weeks of shooting time. Mami Wata premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival where it won the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Cinematography.In this episode we talk about: Their intention to shoot a black and white film from day one Wanting to show the va...

In this episode, No Film School’s GG Hawkins speaks with director C.J. Obasi and Cinematographer Lílis Soares about the film, Mami Wata. They explain their shared vision in creating a film about people of color. They also share how they dealt with challenges like filming the ocean at night and losing almost three weeks of shooting time. Mami Wata premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival where it won the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Cinematography.

In this episode we talk about:

Their intention to shoot a black and white film from day one
Wanting to show the value and beauty of people of color in this film
Being ghosted by the equipment provider on the first day of shooting
Filming for 24 days instead of 6 weeks
Not wanting too many shades of gray
Treating the ocean as another character
How Africans see themselves and portray themselves in film
Leveraging an empathetic gaze versus a sympathetic gaze
Why being patient is key to being in this industry

Memorable Quotes

“It’s a story of sisterhood. It’s a story of mortality versus spirituality. It’s also a story about what it means to be African.” [3:43]
“The eyes of the ocean are everywhere.” [26:41]
“I wanted to do something deeper…something that had more meaning.” [34:34]
“It’s like trying to figure out a jigsaw. When you find that one jigsaw, all the pieces make sense.” [35:38]

Resources:

Find CJ on Instagram

Find Lílis on Instagram

Mami Wata Movie

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