Divine Horseman: The Living Gods of Haiti (excerpt), Maya Deren (1985)

This film, which is made up of unedited footage shot by Deren between 1947-1954, depicts the ceremonies of Haitian vodou. Deren focuses mainly on the physical embodiment of the vodou belief in their communal rituals. Like many of Deren’s films, there is attention to the subconscious, altered states, and mysterious realms of consciousness. It seems that vodou interested Deren as a real-life manifestation of her strongest artistic fascinations. Deren, being that she was both a dancer and choreographer, directs particular attention to the way these people use dance to access or become physically possessed by the loa (spirits). In this excerpt the camera mainly follows one man that becomes possessed by the loa called Damballa while dancing. This moment seems quintessentially Deren: the hypnotic spiritual experience achieved through movement.