"Corpo Fechado", 2016, 40:07 Min.
Illustrated by Catholicism, Spiritism and Candomblé, this film centres on the diversity of religious practice and the social and historical framework to this in São Paulo, Brazil.
In three self-contained episodes Mario Pfeifer depicts religious objects and their protagonists: Christovão Chrystal, a healer who draws on supernatural powers; Tata Katuvengeci, a Candomblé leader in the tradition of Bantu culture from Congolese Angola; and Makumba Cyber, a post-religious manifesto in digital form. These episodes are woven together by interludes documenting the economic aspects of the different faiths.
Wide religious diversity is still a distinctive feature of life in Brazil. When colonial Portuguese rule began in the 15th century, Catholicism was imposed by force and a number of South American indigenous cultures died out. When African countries were colonised in the following century and the slave trade arrived, other faiths spread across Brazil. The “corpo fechado” (unbreakable body) is a religious ritual in Candomblé designed to shield the body from evil.
