Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti (1993)

52m
Running Time

March 20, 1993
Release Date

Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti (1993)

52m
Running Time

March 20, 1993
Release Date

External Links & Social Media

Plot.

This intimate ethnographic study of Voudoun dances and rituals was shot by Maya Deren during her years in Haiti (1947-1951); she never edited the footage, so this “finished” version was made by Teiji Ito and Cherel Ito after Deren’s death.

Where to Watch.

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This Movie Is About.

Cast & Crew.

John Genke

John Genke

Narrator (voice)

Joan Pape

Joan Pape

Narrator (voice)

Maya Deren

Maya Deren

Director / Book / Director of Photography

Cherel Ito

Cherel Ito

Director / Writer / Editor

Teiji Ito

Teiji Ito

Music / Director / Writer / Sound Editor

Yudel Kyler

Yudel Kyler

Title Designer / Animation

Details.

Release Date
March 20, 1993

Status
Released

Running Time
52m

Genres

Wiki.

Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti is a black-and-white documentary film of approximately 52 minutes. It is about dance and possession in Haitian vodou that was shot by experimental filmmaker Maya Deren between 1947 and 1954.

In 1981, twenty years after Deren's death, the film was completed by Deren's third husband Teiji Ito (1935-1982) and his wife Cherel Winett Ito (1947-1999). Most of the film consists of images of dancing and bodies in motion during rituals in Rada and Petro services.

Deren had studied dance as well as photography and filmmaking. She originally went to Haiti, with the funding from a Guggenheim fellowship, and the stated intention of filming the dancing that forms a crucial part of the vodou ceremony. In 1953, Deren's book Divine Horsemen: The Voodoo Gods of Haiti, on the subject of vodou, was published by Vanguard Press.

The film that resulted, however, reflected Deren's increasing personal engagement with vodou and its practitioners (Wilcken, 1986). While this ultimately resulted in Deren disregarding the guidelines of the fellowship, Deren was able to record scenes that probably would have been inaccessible to other filmmakers.

Deren's original notes, film footage, and wire recordings are in the Maya Deren Collection at Boston University's Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center and at Anthology Film Archives.

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