VOODOO, MOUNTED BY THE GODS International Documentary Competition

Mahounon’s father was a Voodoo High Priest in Benin who lived nearly a century, before passing his unwritten knowledge of sacrifice and stones to his son. Although Mahounon is still decades younger, his connection to the Other World advises him he must swiftly find his successor as his own lifespan is limited.

Alter the oracles tell the Voodoo specialist–one of the last true practitioners of native magic-that his own sons aren’t up to the task, Mahounon opens his doors to children from all over West Africa, but they too are rejected. by the spirits. Instead, the oracles select 12-year-old Gounon, a village boy who is wrested from his family to be surrounded by blood and strangers as demanded by his total submission to the dark arts.

Alberto Venzago’s 10-year documentary is striking in its intimacy access to both Mahounon’s physical decline and Gounon’s powerful ascent. It’s a unique study of an education both compelling and chilling.