GREAT FALLS — A Nigerian born director, now living in Bozeman, is getting ready to share his latest feature film with the Treasure State.
“If I can make an African film here in Montana, you can do anything, trust me it’s just beautiful,” said Nnamdi Kanaga.
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Kanaga’s first trip to Montana was in 2016 as part of an arts program that brought him to America, specifically Bozeman.
“They said you're going to go to Montana. I'm like, okay, I mean, it's America, right?” said Kanaga.
The Nigerian born actor, writer and director, who grew up in a military family became infatuated with film at an early age and pursued the craft. He came back to Bozeman in 2018 to finish school.
As an aspiring actor, his idol was Denzel Washington. As a director, his inspirations include James Cameron, Christorpher Nolan, Jordan Peele and Spike Lee.
The first film he made was “Hail Mary”. Kanaga told MTN its the first Montana film with an all-black cast. Filmed in Bozeman and Livingston, it deals with complex relationships between fathers and sons, much like his own.
“I lost my dad in 2019 while I was in school in Bozeman. So, when he passed away, I wanted to start to explore the idea of how we see parents as super superheroes. When they make a mistake, we almost expect them to be perfect,” said Kanaga. “We feel this animosity towards them because we see them as all powerful being or whatever. But, you know, parents are human beings and they're also bound to make mistakes. So the movie was for me to be able to tell young people like myself that it's okay for us to give our parents the same grace, that respect to be extended towards us.”
"So the movie was just for me to see, to be able to tell young people like myself that it's okay for us to give our parents to extend the same grace, that respect to be extended towards us.”
His latest film is “Water Girl” which tells the story of a Nigerian woman living in Bozeman who longs to have a child.
After years of trying, she finally gets her wish, but it comes at a price.
“It's almost like the child is going through a series of supernatural, experiences. And she has no idea why this is happening,” said Kanaga. “And then in the long run, she discovers that her child is actually of the water and the child must go back to the water.”
“Water Girl” has already garnered several awards. It will have a special screening on May 20th at the Myrna Loy Center in Helena. That will be followed by a screening on May 28th at the Ellen Theater in Bozeman.
“It's about how we and nature are constantly fighting to get what we want,” said Kanaga. “We take from nature and nature comes back and takes everything from us. So, it's a beautiful story about family, love, motherhood, childbirth, you know, mother and daughter.”
Tickets to the 7:00 pm screening, which also includes a talkback with Kanaga, are available through the Myrna Loy Theater website.
Kanaga’s talents aren’t just limited to the silver screen. He also wrote a short memoir called “Onwuchekwa, Death Waits.” The book came about when he was assigned a class project while at MSU. He chose to write about the death of his younger brother more than a decade earlier.
“I feel like even 11 years after he passed away, I still didn't know what grief is,” said Kanaga.
Kanaga is also working on another feature film called “The Resurrection Road.”
“It's going to be a psychological thriller set in Columbus, Montana, and it's going to be a very beautiful small film,” said Kanaga.
