DANCE OF THE SPIRITS (202x)
Logline: Seun, a precocious seven-year-old boy, awkwardly adjusts to his new life in Atlanta, Georgia, after happily living in Lagos, Nigeria, for most of his life. He soon loses his father in a terrible accident, which sends his enduring mother Sanumi spiraling, blaming herself for her husband's death. Sanumi tries to find peace with being a newly widowed single parent by sequestering herself and Seun with unfamiliar in-laws. After the funeral service, a devastated Seun argues with his depleted mother and locks himself in an opulent funeral ballroom, where three ancestral Egungun spirits come to greet him.
EGUNGUN
"In the Yoruba tradition, Egungun is a visible manifestation of the spirits of departed ancestors who periodically revisit the human community for remembrance, celebration, and blessings."
"Cloth plays an important role in the world of the Yoruba. Their beliefs equate nakedness with infancy, insanity, or the lack of social responsibility. More elaborate dress reflects social power and prestige. In performances honoring ancestors, exquisite cloth is the major medium for the masker's transformation. An Egungun costume is composed of multiple layers of cloth lappets made from expensive and prestigious textiles, expressing the wealth and status of a family as well as the power of the ancestor."
CREDITS
Dancers : Jessica Emmanuel
Writer & Director : Jamal Ademola
Producers : Kris Simms
Costume : Mairig Fesshaye
