During Jair Bolsonaro's presidency (2019-2022), Afro-derived religious manifestations in Brazil were considered a crime; they now face a new wave of oppression. The documentary film Orikis presents a narrative of Afro-Brazilian sacred practices and shows how African gods dance in human bodies to keep on telling freedom stories. It is based on images produced in a programme of unique, state-supported scientific research that took place at the Federal University of Espírito Santo (UFES) in the late 1980s to reflect on and foster a sense of unity and strength among those religious communities. ‘Our project is the crossroads where past and present coexist, as in the Bakongo and Nagô cosmogonies, where we discover the panorama of the present and remember the possibility of a new future.’
Lavínia Coutinho Cardoso (Director) is a historian and researcher specialised in Afro-Brazilian studies. She is a member of the State Nucleus of Black Women of Espírito Santo. Roger Gomes Ghil (Co-Director) is a filmmaker and producer. He focuses on anti-colonial studies, diasporic religiosities and gender disobedience.
