Black Goddess (Portuguese: A Deusa Negra) is a 1978 Nigerian-Brazilian film written and directed by Ola Balogun. It stars a largely Brazilian cast that include Sonya Santos,[1] Zózimo Bulbul, Léa Garcia, and Jorge Coutinho. The film is set in both the eighteenth century and the 1970s.
| Black Goddess | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Ola Balogun |
| Written by | Ola Balogun |
| Produced by | Ola Balogun Jece Valadao |
| Starring | Jorge Coutinho Sonia Santos Zózimo Bulbul Léa Garcia Roberto Pirillo |
| Cinematography | Edison Batista |
| Edited by | Philipe Gosselet |
| Music by | Remi Kabaka |
Production company | Magnus Filmes |
| Distributed by | Embrafilme Afrocult Foundation |
Release date |
|
Running time | 95 minutes |
| Countries | Nigeria Brazil |
| Language | Portuguese |
Plot
The protagonist of the movie is Babatunde, played by Zozimo Bulbul. The dying wish of Babatunde's father was for Babatunde to make a journey to Brazil and see what has become of the descendants of his great-grandfather, Oluyole who was abducted and sold into slavery and also search the story of a mysterious legend in the family's history. He is handed a Yemoja sculpture as guide to journey that took him from Lagos to favelas in Brazil and a visit to a candomblé session. The movie's plot used African spiritual embodiment existing as a reality. Babatunde is transported back to the period of his grandfather's time in Brazil with the help of Yemoja.
Cast
- Jorge Coutinho as Oluyole
- Sonia Santos as Amanda, elisa
- Zózimo Bulbul as Babatunde
- Léa Garcia as Yemoja
- Antônio Pitanga
Production
Black Goddess is the first Nigerian-Brazilian co-production. The film was co-produced by EMBRAFILME and Balogun's Afrocult Foundation. The scenes were shot in Brazil and the language is Portuguese.
Reception
Two critics, Janet Maslin and Kathe Sandler described the film as a melodrama[2][3] Maslin described the movie has two films, an historical melodrama in the tradition of Roots and a "fiery and forceful tribute to contemporary African culture".[4]
The movie won an award at the 1980 Carthage Film Festival.
