HNIFF 2023
Valley of Souls
Directed by Edileuza Penha de Souza, Santi… · Brazil · 15 min · short · narrative
A black family tries to defend their land against invaders but gets caught between a mischievous witch and a tortured spirit eager for revenge.
This film's screening window has ended.
From the director
‘Valley of Souls’ is my debut as narrative fiction filmmaker, although I have solid experience as documentarist, which includes the best short film award for Filhas de Lavadeiras (2020) at the 25th It´s All True, Brazilian main documentary festival and Academy Awards’ qualifier.
‘Valley of Souls’ goes about the Brazilian folk tale of the Saci, one of the most known black characters of our popular culture. The film crew was majorly black, and it was shot in the Quilombo Kalunga, a sacred territory to where enslaved people and their descendants managed to flee, gather together and survive colonialist attacks through more than 200 centuries until nowadays. The film’s cast is 100% formed by Kalunga debuting actresses and actors. (Edileuza Penha de Souza)
