In Search of Voodoo: Roots to Heaven

In Search of Voodoo: Roots to Heaven is a 2018 Beninese biographical documentary film directed by actor Djimon Hounsou, in his directorial debut. The film is based on true events from Hounsou's life and focuses on personal, cultural, and spiritual tales of Voodoo in West Africa. Among other elements, the film features two ceremonies honoring the water spirit Mami Wata in Grand-Popo, Benin.

International screenings

10 March 2018 – Miami International Film Festival
10 and 12 June 2018 – Zanzibar International Film Festival
16 February 2019 – Toronto Black Film Festival
9 February 2018 – Pan African Film Festival
9 March 2019 – New African Film Festival

Reception

Guy Lodge of Variety wrote that, "if has a few unresolved edges, it makes a persuasive case for a thorough re-examination of its subject: Working inside out from his personal affiliation with West African Voodooism to a broader study of the culture it has bred across the diaspora, this 65-minute film is vivid and heartfelt when it stays close to home, but could stand more anthropological analysis in the long view."