C.J. OBASI
C.J. Obasi fondly called “Fiery”, and “The Fiery One”, grew up in small town Owerri,
South-Eastern Nigeria, watching Hammer House horror films and reading Stephen
King novels. As a child, he developed a knack for drawing comics based on all his
favorite movies and superheroes at the time. Comics which he would sell to his peers
much to their delight. Much later on in life, he would put aside his degree in Computer
Science from the University of Nigeria (UNN) to launch into filmmaking, full time.
Obasi, also called "Fiery” or “The Fiery One” premiered his debut feature “OJUJU” -
a zero budget film at Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF) 2014, where it won
the award for “Best Nigerian Film”. OJUJU has screened in over 40 film Festivals,
receiving major acclaim from the likes of Screen Anarchy, IndieWire, & The
Hollywood Reporter. OJUJU has gone on to become a cult classic, being listed among
several “Best Zombie Film” of all-time list, and more recently been optioned by a
major Hollywood studio for series adaptation. Obasi’s sophomore feature film “O-
Town”, a crime thriller arthouse piece, screened at AFRIFF 2015 and the 2016
Gothenburg Film Festival, Sweden. It was nominated for several awards, including
the Screen Nation Awards, UK, and the Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA).
Obasi’s short film “Hello, Rain” based on Hello, Moto by world-renowned author
Nnedi Okorafor had its world premiere at the Oscar-qualifying International
Competition of the Kurzfilmtage Oberhausen in May 2018, and has gone on to screen
in over 50 festivals, including a headline screening at Southbank Centre in London,
Fantasia Film Festival where it won the Special Mention of the Jury prize and BFI
London Film Festival where it was nominated for the Short Film Award. Hello, Rain
has since been featured on CNN and BBC for its strides in African-futurism and
fantasy. In 2019, Obasi served as a jury member at the 40th Durban International Film
Festival. Obasi co-founded the new wave cinema collective, Surreal16 with
filmmakers Abba T. Makama and Michael Omonua. Together they have produced
two anthology projects – Visions (2017), a 3-part anthology short film exploring
dreams and visions, as well as Juju Stories (2021), a 3-part anthology feature film
exploring urban and mythical tales in contemporary Lagos, Nigeria. Juju Stories world
premiered in the main competition of Locarno Film Festival, and won the Boccalino
D’Oro Award for Best Film, awarded by the Swiss Independent Critics. Juju Stories
has since screened in over 20 film festivals, including the BFI London Film Festival,
Seattle Film Festival, FESPACO, Indie Memphis and AFRIFF, where it won Best
Director(s) Award for the trio of directors. Juju Stories was released theatrically by
CanalOlympia across 12 African countries on October 29, 2021, and across Nigeria in
January 21 by distribution giant, FilmOne. Juju Stories has been acquired by Amazon
Prime Video and was released globally on their platform on October 7, 2022.
Obasi’s feature film, Mami Wata – a female-driven black and white fantasy film was
developed with Ouaga Film Lab (Burkina Faso), Le Groupe Ouest’s Less is More
(Poland, Romania, and France), EAVE (Luxembourg, Serbia and Germany) and
Durban FilmMart (South Africa). Filmed entirely in Benin republic with an
international cast and crew from more than seven countries in Africa, the Americas
and Europe, Mami Wata was selected for Final Cut Workshop in Venice Film Festival
2021, and received post-production funding from Les Ateliers Yennenga in FESPACO
sponsored by the Red Sea Film Fund, as well as the Swiss Fund Visions Sud Est. Mami
Wata world premiered to rave reviews in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition of
Sundance Film Festival 2023 where it won the Special Jury Award for
Cinematography, as well as in FESPACO (the oldest film festival in Africa), where it
won the Best Image, Best Décor and the African Critics Prize. It also won the Best
Cinematography, Best Make-Up, and Best Nigerian Film Awards at the Africa Movie
Academy Awards (AMAA). MAMI WATA was Nigeria’s Official Submission to the
96th Academy Awards, and has been nominated for Best International Film at the 2024
Independent Spirit Awards, as well as for Outstanding International Picture at the
2024 NAACP Image Awards. His latest projects are London and Rwanda-set A Blue
Butterfly, written by and starring Steve Toussaint (House of the Dragon), Sanaa Lathan
(Love & Basketball), Lucian Msamati (Conclave) and Anton Lesser (Game of Thrones). He
is also attached o write and direct a Korean-African set project with Morgan Freeman
and Lori McCreary executive producing under their Revelations Entertainment
banner. His diaspora mystical voyage La Pyramide starring Ntare Guma Mbaho
Mwine (The Knick) is currently filming in Brazil, Senegal and New Orleans, Louisiana.
Obasi is a voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Oscars).