Toto Bissainthe + La ronde des vodù : en hommage au peuple haïtien

Toto Bissainthe
Sarah Maldoror, Frankreich, 1985, 4 min. French with English subtitles

La ronde des vodù : en hommage au peuple haïtien (The Voodoo Dance: A Tribute to the People of Haiti)
Elsie Haas, Haïti, 1987, 52 min. Creole with English subtitles

Sarah Maldoror, the first woman of color to direct a feature film, is widely revered as the matriarch of African cinema—a medium she treated as a vital tool for political struggle and liberation. In her short film documentary Toto Biss52ainthe, Maldoror turns her lens toward the legendary Haitian singer and actress. The film highlights a deep-seated creative connection: back in the 1960s, both women, alongside visionary figures like Samb Makharam and Timité Bassori, were core members of "Les Griots," a groundbreaking theatrical ensemble that redefined Black dramatic arts.

The voodoo dance offers an in-depth exploration into the role of Voodoo in Haitian culture from the perspectives of Voodoo priests, government officials, historians and politicians. Attacked by Western clerics and declared a "superstition" by law in 1935, Voodoo has always been a source of empowerment for the average Haitian. And scholars argue that despite the exploitation, romanticization and vilification of voodoo, it remains an authentic and stabilizing cultural base of everyday Haitian society.