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Maxwell Innis II, is a writer & director born and raised in the state of Maryland in America. He graduated from Ithaca College with a BFA in 2018 and relocated to Los Angeles the same year. Since then he has worked in the film industry in a variety of ways, from directing short films and music videos, working in the props department at Nickelodeon, to driving wardrobe trucks for commercial shoots. He currently is a coordinator for Caviar films LA.



Originally from New Orleans, Christopher Stoudt is an award-winning filmmaker based in Los Angeles. In 2018 he was nominated for a Los Angeles Emmy for Outstanding Director for his full-length documentary, Lost LA: Descanso Gardens. His short The Black Rebel was a Vimeo Staff Pick in 2019. His latest documentary short, Camp ALEC, was produced by The Kennedy/Marshall Company and acquired by Disney+ for the forthcoming revival of their series “People and Places.” His film Four Seasons Total Documentary, which profiles the infamous Philadelphia press conference, premiered on MSNBC and was nominated for a Critics’ Choice Award. He is currently in development on his first feature with Vox Media.



Jason Boussioux is a French director. After cinema studies in Cannes and Paris at the Sorbonne University he entered the ENS Louis-Lumière to be trained as a director of photography. Drawing his stories from the imagery of the night, he always makes a point to stage strong images with very rich visuals, bold lighting and immersive sound design. Passionate about classical music and jazz, he often writes stories in which music has an important role to play and with characters driven by a melancholic existential crisis. Influenced by the cinema of Damien Chazelle, David Lynch, Terrence Malick and Wong Kar-wai, his favorite genres are neo-noir, musical and surrealist films.



Sebastian has over fifteen years of experience creating high-profile work for the likes of Amazon, Citroen, Sony and Viacom. He has worked across a wide range of video projects leading creative teams and working hands-on as a producer, director and editor. Currently producing commercial, corporate and independent films in New York City.



Gil Alves, is Brazilian filmmaker and Director, graduated in Audiovisual Production (Jorge Amado University) and dance (FUNCEB), acts as artistic and creative director of shows and festivals, including: Afro Fashion Day, YouTube Black Voices Award and Afropunk Bahia Festival.

One of the selected directors for Dance Film Lab 3 (Dance Films Association NYC 2023), with his last project: Gratitude my father, Obaluaê, for which he was the screenwriter, director and performer, received festival awards in Brazil, West Africa, Europe and USA.



Born in Rio de Janeiro - Brazil, Alexandre Maciel, 36 years old, has an academic background in Advertising and Public Relations and was recently accepted by the Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC - RJ) to pursue a master's degree in art and design. He works as director and director of photography together with major players such as NETFLIX, GLOBO, DISNEY in addition to investing and producing diversity, equity and inclusion content.

Inspired by pianist, singer and composer Zé Manoel’s song- Gratitude my father, Obaluaê! it’s about our ancestry and portrays healing through dance. Through an intensely reflective process, the purpose is to immerse in an embodied relationship to our ancestors and the religious imagery universe of candomblé.

This project began in 2020 at the height of the pandemic. It arose as a supplication to Obaluaê, the orixá of diseases, health, life and the earth, to protect us through this period of spiraling darkness. Things were falling apart, and the will to develop, create, and regenerate collectively, is how we got started.

Religious intolerance in Brazil has created a lot of marginalization and stigmatization surrounding candomblé, a religion of African origin. The experience, the magic, and the freedom of creating a film about Obaluaê with an all Black creative team meant that this film began from our vantage point, a celebration, and supplication, not as an explanation or apology.

  • Year
    2020
  • Runtime
    6 minutes
  • Language
    Portuguese
  • Country
    Brazil
  • Premiere
    November 2020
  • Subtitle Language
    English
  • Social Media
  • Director
    Gil Alves & Wendel Assis
  • Screenwriter
    Gil Alves
  • Producer
    Gil Alves
  • Executive Producer
    Gil Alves
  • Co-Producer
    Roberto Montenegro
  • Filmmaker
    Wendel Assis & José Adilson
  • Cast
    Gil Alves
  • Cinematographer
    Wendel Asss
  • Editor
    Rana Tosto
  • Animator
    Vanessa Moura
  • Production Design
    Eric Maninga
  • Composer
    Zé Manoel
  • Sound Design
    Andrea Martins
  • Music
    Zé Manoel
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