The Gotham Group, an American production company, has signed Nigerian filmmaker C.J. Obasi, whose latest feature Mami Wata is Nigeria’s entry for Best International Feature Oscar in the 96th Academy Awards.
The company has partnered with big studio companies like 20th Century Fox, Universal Studios and the like, and has worked on projects such as The Spiderwick Chronicles and The Maze Runner franchise.
Mami Wata world premiere at the renowned Sundance Film Festival earlier this year was nothing short of a triumph as it garnered a special jury prize with applause for the film’s cinematography.
Read also: From Sundance to Oscars: The journey of ‘Mami Wata’
Obasi’s previous credits include Ojuju (2014) and O-Town (2015), which screened at various festivals, including Gothenburg and Fantasia.
His short film, Hello, Rain (2018) premiered at Oberhausen and over 40 festivals, winning a Jury Prize at Fantasia, and the BFI Short Film Award nomination. Juju Stories (2021), an anthology film directed by the Surreal1 Collective, won the Boccalino D’oro Award for Best Film at Locarno.
Mami Wata was nominated for 12 African Film Academy Awards including Best Director and Best Film.
Read also: CJ Obasi’s ‘MAMI WATA’ rakes 12 nominations at AMAA 2023
Dekanalog, a film and soundtrack distribution company responsible for the musical scores of Mami Wata acquired North American rights in May to the film, which has also been acquired for Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Alief handles international sales rights.
Hollywood-based management and production company The Gotham Group recently produced Wendell & Wild at Netflix in collaboration with Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions and director Henry Selick, starring the voice talent of Key & Peele, Lyric Ross (This Is Us) and Angela Bassett.
