Kite Zo A (Leave the Bones) opens with an evocation of the ancestors that watch over Haiti and an introduction to Vodou. Poetry by Wood-Jerry Gabriel and the percussive sounds of maracas, drums, crickets, children playing, dogs barking, and songs of protest and love gradually thin the veil between spirit and material worlds. Unfinished buildings and crumbling structures—reminders of economic and climate crises—provide a backdrop for expressive displays of dance. Choreographed dance sequences inserted among footage of interviews, landscapes and nightlife express that Haitian collective memory does not dwell within edifices, but within the body and ritual communion. A Vodou priest comments on the presence of other religions, but explains, “Vodou is the culture we’re born into because we used Vodou to gain our independence.” The story of colonial oppression and unrest is told through archival footage and spoken word, while the story of resilience is shown through rollerblading and musical processions. Formally and thematically, the film builds up to Kanaval, culminating in a cathartic celebration of joy and endurance. -BB

In 1791, in Haiti, Dutty Boukman presided over a Vodou ritual in Bois-Caïman that led to the creation of the first Black republic. Since then, rituals of transformation and artistic expression have been at the core of a thriving culture as the country faces oppression, poverty, and natural disasters. Kite Zo A (Leave the Bones) is a sensorial film about rituals in Haiti, from ancient to modern, made in collaboration with poets, dancers, musicians, fishermen, daredevil rollerbladers, and Vodou priests. -SXSW