A film on Esu Laalu , “ Esu and the Universe “ arrives the Brazilian film industry. Lanroye speaks aloud in Rio festival as Brazil launch documentary on Esu .
“ Esu is a popular African deity for thousands of years and we may never know its exact origin. But it is possible to understand how Esu went from God in Africa to Devil in Brazil. This tragic story, which goes through colonization and slavery, is not over yet. “EXU and the Universe” follows the complex path of a culture transformed into resistance over several centuries “ -Says Thiago Zanato
Directed by Thiago Zanato , the documentary deconstructs preconceptions about cultures and religions of African people , it projects Esu as a messenger deity rather than the Devil described in recent times
The film presents the Nigerian Bàbálórìsà Adesiná Síkírù Sàlámì, better known as Prof. King, as the center of the narration “ EXU E O UNIVERSO” by Thiago Zanato .
The film is expected to have its world premiere on Friday 14th .October, 2022 , at exactly 5 pm , Estação Net Gávea . It will be part of the Rio Festival program.
Produced over 5 years , the film gives voice to Prof King, a charismatic Nigerian professor who immigrated to Brazil in the 1980s and became a prominent intellectual and scholar.
According to Zanata , Baba king , since 30 years, has been fighting to change the perception of African culture and religion in Brazil and in the world. He has opened a cultural center and written several books, but his most important project is yet to be completed: a Yoruba dictionary he has been working on for almost 20 years , in which Yoruba sacred words are properly translated and their real meaning revealed – words as “Èṣù”.
“ Esù is a word of only 3 letters, which carries a fascinating and poorly known history. We have to respect this story and fix it”, explains Zanato, who was already researching religions before making the documentary. Zanato met Prof King through Marco Antônio Ferreira who would later sign the film’s direction of photography
“I was doing film research on portraits of religions as a form of resistance, against oppressive, colonialist and capitalist processes, which do not allow other religions to continue to exist. When I met Prof King, I understood that his world view was very particular and interesting, and quite different from the western view.”- Zanato
According to him , the professor was already well acquainted with Brazil, having lived, and completed his master’s and doctorate, both in sociology, at USP in 1990. “I was fascinated and curious about what he had to say. He liked me because I also have this openness to understand about the themes.
The film “Esu and the Universe” is a vision of the universe from the point of view of Yoruba culture and Prof King.”- Says Zanato . The script signed by Zanato , Prof King and musician Marcos “Nasi” Valadão, who is part of the teacher’s community.
“ Nasi was in Nigeria and Prof King asked him he wanted to make a record of what they were doing there . It was really amazing , the priests of Orisas gathered together and doing the rituals . Prof. King also introduced us to important place in Nígeria “ – Says Zanato
The production team did more than 200 hours of footage in Brazil, Nigeria and Europe, following Prof King through his activities worldwide
The director of the film started by reading the book “Exu e a Ordem do Universo” by the professor himself, and from there, he talked a lot with him and discussed issues related to the concept .
“Exu is an organizing force for everything, for all the Orisas . It was kind of organic, I read the book, we went to places, everything fell into place. We were building the script throughout the research. And other things that appeared along the way, like finding the person from Google who fixed the translation of Esu “
“ The film is a deconstruction of preconceptions about cultures and religions of African origins. We still live in a climate that is marked by oppressive historical processes, and it is difficult to detach from them. EXU AND THE UNIVERSE is a cry of hope, a tribute to Exu so that history can be rewritten in the right way to have a fairer and less oppressive future.” Says Zanato
The film schedules:
- Exu and the Universe at the Rio Festival
- 10/14 at 5 pm: Session for guests, at Estação Net Gávea – R. Marquês de São Vicente, 52, Gávea
-10/15 at 10:30 am: Session open to the public, followed by debate, at Cine Odeon – CCLSR – Praça Floriano, 7, Cinelândia
Esu and the Universe is a film about the decolonization of thought and the influence of the Yoruba people in the diaspora. In Brazil, a country where religious freedom is under attack and racism is systemic, a Nigerian man and his community struggle to prove that Esu is not the devil.
The production team includes , Directed by: Thiago Zanato
Screenwriters: Prof. King, Thiago Zanato, Marcos “Nasi” Valadão
Production: Chica Barbosa, Prof. King, Marcos “Nasi” Valadão
Director of Photography: Marco Antônio Ferreira
Editing: Danilo Santos
Sound: Thiago Zanato, Fred França, Raul Costa and Tales Manfrinato
Sound Editing and Mixing: Tiago Bello
Color and Finishing: MIA – Marcelo Rodriguez
Producers: Druzina Content and Livres Filmes
Thiago Zanato is a Brazilian filmmaker who divides his time between Los Angeles and São Paulo. His work focuses on social issues and the aesthetics of representation. He became involved in cinema as Creative Director on projects such as “I’m Here” (Sundance, 2010), directed by Spike Jonze and “NY-Z”, with Jay-Z and directed by Danny Clinch.
He directed the short film “La Flaca” about a Mexican transgender woman and leader of the Santa Muerte cult in Queens, New York. The film won several awards and entered more than 100 film festivals around the world, including: Friborg International Film Festival, Message to Man, Festival de la Habana, Guanajuato International Film Festival, Frameline, Encounters Film Festival, MIX Brasil, Panorama Internacional de Cinema, Curta Cinema.
He is currently debuting his first feature film “Exu e o Universo”, a documentary about freedom of worship, the decolonization of thought and the influence of the African Yoruba people. Zanato has developed his first fiction feature film, produced between the United States and Mexico.
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