by Yuri Ancarani, Italy 2017, 30'
| CAMERA: Yuri Ancarani | MUSIC: Matteo Pit | |
| EDITING: Yuri Ancarani | PRODUCER: Simone Cipriani, Chloè Mukai, Marco Alessi | |
| SOUND: Mirco Mencacci | PRODUCTION: Dugong, Ethical Fashion Initiative |
Presented at Lo Schermo dell'arte 2017
According to statistics, 80% of the population of the Republic of Haiti practices voodoo. In ancient popular belief, voodoo shamans can turn the dead into slaves through the zombie ritual Kale Zombie or “zombie whipping”, filmed here by Ancarani for the first time in history.
Hypnotic, repetitive music, performed with percussion and traditional wind instruments, induces a trance in which zombie men whip and fight each other until they ‘die and are reborn’ in an infinite cycle. The voodoo ritual is accompanied by other island imagery, including night footage of a cemetery used as housing by the poorest part of the population, and close-ups of the transformation of oil cans into handicraft items.
Ancarani’s characteristic attention to percussive sounds, such as a hammer on metal, lends a tribal, obsessive rhythm to the flow of images.
According to statistics, 80% of the population of the Republic of Haiti practices voodoo. In ancient popular belief, voodoo shamans can turn the dead into slaves through the zombie ritual Kale Zombie or “zombie whipping”, filmed here by Ancarani for the first time in history.
Hypnotic, repetitive music, performed with percussion and traditional wind instruments, induces a trance in which zombie men whip and fight each other until they ‘die and are reborn’ in an infinite cycle. The voodoo ritual is accompanied by other island imagery, including night footage of a cemetery used as housing by the poorest part of the population, and close-ups of the transformation of oil cans into handicraft items.
Ancarani’s characteristic attention to percussive sounds, such as a hammer on metal, lends a tribal, obsessive rhythm to the flow of images.
Yuri Ancarani
Born in Ravenna 1972, lives in Milan. His work includes documentary and moving images. His latest films have been screened and won prizes in more than a hundred international festivals, including Locarno, Venice, Toronto, MOMA, SXSW and in museums: Centre Pompidou in Paris, Venice Biennale, Guggenheim Museum New York.
Born in Ravenna 1972, lives in Milan. His work includes documentary and moving images. His latest films have been screened and won prizes in more than a hundred international festivals, including Locarno, Venice, Toronto, MOMA, SXSW and in museums: Centre Pompidou in Paris, Venice Biennale, Guggenheim Museum New York.
Selected Filmography
2016 The Challenge 2014 Seance; San Siro 2012 Da Vinci 2011 Piattaforma Luna 2010 Il Capo