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"Brooklyn to Benin: A Vodou Pilgrimage"
Director: Régine Romain
Assistant Director: Olatoundji Fagbenro
Executive Producer: Régine Romain
Producers: WaWaWa Diaspora Centre and Trinity Empire
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"Brooklyn to Benin: A Vodou Pilgrimage" begins with an aerial view of the Route des Esclaves (Slave Road) in Ouidah, which terminates at the Atlantic Ocean. Millions of captured Africans were shipped off into slavery for hundreds of years from this location in Benin (formerly Dahomey), West Africa. In tandem to the shifting gaze from the road to the ocean, a traditional prayer is spoken in Fon, an indigenous language of the region, and is performed by Adissowé, a Vodou high priestess.

As the invocation honors the four corners of the earth and offers reverence to the mysteries of nature, a woman emerges into view. She is a daughter from the other side of the water, who has now returned to the original homeland of her Haitian ancestors. The viewers follow her slow steady walk across Ouidah beach, as she becomes the narrator and offers the historical context of the film, free of the traditional Western bias and stereotypes of Vodou and its practitioners.

The narrator is Régine Romain and she shares her three-year journey documenting the survival of traditional African religion in the Americas. Still photographs of ceremonies and shrines in Brooklyn, NY; southern United States; Central America; and Haiti are displayed. The camera then trails the narrator as she enters a shrine for Aïda Wedo, an ancient Mami Wata divinity amidst the evocative sounds of a Haitian folksong for the exact same deity, affirming that the spirits of Vodou “c’est bon,” are good.

Viewers continue to follow her journey across the sands toward the historic Door of No Return. Each step is a powerful affirmation that she is a descendent of survivors. As the narrator states “honor one’s God fearlessly,” her footsteps fade into a montage of women in traditional dress, singing and dancing in praise and devotion. “Brooklyn to Benin” creates an alternative cinematic experience of Vodou grounded in honor and respect.

Support the journey: www.gofundme.com/BktoBenin.com

Follow the journey: Instagram [Regine Romain]

www.REGINEROMAIN.com