Although best known as a pioneer of independent experimental cinema, Maya Deren was also a Voundoun initiate, and hence able to take her camera and recorder where few have gone before or since.
"Divine Horsemen" is the name of Maya Deren's monograph published in 1953, an account of the cosmology of Voudoun. The title was used by Teiji ( Maya's husband at the time of her death) and Cherel Ito in their assembled film made from Deren's footage ( Deren by the way was born in Kiev in 1917 but lived in the USA from 1922 to her death in 1961). One of her largest frustrations was her inability to edit 20.000 feet of footage she shot in 1947, and 1949, 1954. This was primarily due to lack of fundin..
`Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti' is an incredible visual document chronicling authentic Haitian Voundoun practices as they've never been viewed by the public-at-large before. Filmed between '47 and '51 by the legendary cult filmmaker and author Maya Deren who was an initiate into these religious practices, her involvement made it possible for her to gain access into its most intimate circles and record songs, rituals and festivals long hidden from the eyes of the unbeliever. The documentary is ex..
