Mami Wata, the black-and-white, supernatural thriller coming from genre director CJ Obasi, is inching towards becoming a fully-realised programme. Still crowdfunded via Indiegogo, Obasi recently announced on social media that his movie has been accepted into the Ouaga Film Lab.
Launched in 2016 and now in its second edition, the Ouaga Film Lab is a development and co-production residency with the aim to strengthen the competitiveness of West African directors and producers within major international labs, as well as to facilitate their access to local funds, international co-productions and closer collaboration with experienced mentors from around the continent.
Think of it as a talent farm, an incubator of African film creators and a major platform for revealing new talents. Last year, 10 feature projects (narrative and documentary) were selected. This year, the mechanism offers participants an intensive training programme, on producing and structured in three phases: before, during and after the Ouaga Film Lab.
Taking place from September 20th – 29th in Burkina Faso, Obasi’s Mami Wata is among selected film projects like The Sheep of Sada by Senegalese director Papa Bouname Lopy, Wakat (Jean-Baptiste Ouedraogo), and Genetically Modified Region (Simplice Ganou).
