On Earth as it is in Heaven
Director Inês Gonçalves
Countries Portugal, Sao Tome and Principe
Duration 54 min
Synopsis
São Tomé, an African equatorial island. The landscape here consists of a dense and never-ending forest, a scenario taken straight from a tale of fairies, witches and wizards. The film tells us how the inhabitants of São Tomé and Príncipe live on Earth with the souls of the dead, all in the same geographical space and time. The film is centred on the lives of Nijo and the Spirit that he receives Nove Nove. Nijo is a thirty-year-old man living on Earth. He has lots of male and female friends and is a highly popular figure in the capital of São Tomé. Nijo has been receiving the Spirit or dead person for several years. Nowadays, he is a master, which means that he can fully control his Spirit. Nove Nove lives in Heaven, he is a dead man. Nove Nove enters the body of Nijo, completely displaying his own personality, which is very different from that of the other. Through Nijo’s body, Novenove performs the work of a faith healer. ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN seeks to understand how the world of the dead coexists side by side with the world of the living, how aspects of traditional culture are reconciled with contemporary life.
São Tomé, an African equatorial island. The landscape here consists of a dense and never-ending forest, a scenario taken straight from a tale of fairies, witches and wizards. The film tells us how the inhabitants of São Tomé and Príncipe live on Earth with the souls of the dead, all in the same geographical space and time. The film is centred on the lives of Nijo and the Spirit that he receives Nove Nove. Nijo is a thirty-year-old man living on Earth. He has lots of male and female friends and is a highly popular figure in the capital of São Tomé. Nijo has been receiving the Spirit or dead person for several years. Nowadays, he is a master, which means that he can fully control his Spirit. Nove Nove lives in Heaven, he is a dead man. Nove Nove enters the body of Nijo, completely displaying his own personality, which is very different from that of the other. Through Nijo’s body, Novenove performs the work of a faith healer. ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN seeks to understand how the world of the dead coexists side by side with the world of the living, how aspects of traditional culture are reconciled with contemporary life.