Short Summary "VOODOO MAN"

VOODOO MAN is a film about Papa Joe, an African-American voodoo priest from the suburbs of Raleigh, North Carolina. Joe grew up in rural North Carolina, not far from the South Carolina border. His father believed in the power of hoodoo (root magic) while his mother is a Pentecostal Christian. Papa Joe’s godfather was a “root doctor”, a spiritual worker, who "worked the roots” for conjuring, a practice passed on from slaves imported from Africa.

VOODOO MAN is a documentary film by Henning Christoph (anthropologist, photojournalist, filmmaker and museum curator), who has spent the last 30 years documenting voodoo (Vodun, Vodou) in Africa and among the diaspora.

Over the last nine years, Henning Christoph has documented the growth of Papa Joe’s "voodoo world" on the outskirts of a suburban housing development in Raleigh, North Carolina. The two men met over the internet, when the African-American voodoo priest turned to the scholar and expert of African voodoo, wishing to learn more about the African origins of this native religion. This contact has turned into a mutual friendship founded on trust and sincere interest for their respective work with and about voodoo. Due to their contact, a film was made possible that allows the audience a window to a spiritual world that is unknown to most of us.

VOODOO MAN is a first time look into the Afro-American voodoo scene, not Haitain, Cuban or commercial New Orleans voodoo, but real American voodoo.

 

HENNING CHRISTOPH - Director

Henning Christoph was born in Grimma, Germany in 1944. His family immigrated to the US in 1950. Christoph studied anthropology and journalism at the University of Maryland. While still a student, he worked as a police reporter in New York City. In 1967, after graduating from university, he returned to Germany to study photography under Prof. Otto Steinert at the famous Folkwang University of the Arts. Christoph has been working as a freelance photojournalist since 1969. He became one of the top international photographers, with photos printed in titles such as Life, Time, Newsweek, the New York Times, Figaro, Stern and Geo. He was the first international photographer to report on the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

Henning Christoph has won six WORLD PRESS PHOTO awards for his work. His work focuses on religious conflicts, cults, minorities and Africa. Over the last 40 years he has travelled to Africa more than 100 times to document magic, healing, secret societies and voodoo in West and Central Africa. Parallel to his work as a photographer and filmmaker, he built up the “Soul of Africa Museum” in Essen, Germany. The SOA Museum is internationally known for its collection of voodoo, magic and healing objects.

BENEDICT MIROW - Producer

Munich-born Benedict Mirow set off for Vienna, Austria where he studied theatrical direction at the famous Max Reinhardt Seminar (the School of Drama at the University of Preforming Arts). He also studied ethnology with a focus on African studies back home in Germany. For more than 10 years he’s produced and directed prize-winning concert films and documentaries about stars of the international classical music scene like Lang Lang, Hilary Hahn, Placido Domingo and Daniel Hope. He also created a film portrait of the world-renowned bestselling author, Paulo Coelho.

In 1999 Mirow founded NIGHTFROG, a production company specializing in music films and documentaries with a special focus on culture and Africa. In 2001 he assisted the production of Caroline Links’ Nowhere in Africa as an ethnological consultant. The feature film went on to win the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 2003. In 2005 Mirow received the Echo Klassik award for Best Music DVD Production for his direction and production of Lang Lang – Live at Carnegie Hall.

His clients include broadcasters from around the world as well as entertainment industry giants like Bertelsmann, SONY, Deutsche Grammophon and Universal. Benedict Mirow at IMDB

What We Need & What You Get

We’ve already completed filming – all our interviews and location shootings are done. As you read this, we’re putting the finishing touches on editing the film. So the heavy lifting is already completed. But there’s still more to do in order to release a finished, polished film: color correction, composing music, mixing and mastering. And we need a digital cinema copy for the big screen!

To get this one of a kind cultural documentation off of our editing computer and onto the big screen, we need your help. Your support will help us put the finishing touches on the documentary – and you can pick up some nice perks in the process:

• For $10 you'll get a real voodoo blessing from Papa Joe. Give it a try! It's worth it! 
• For $25 you'll get a DVD of the finished movie – the classic presale! You can see the trailer here.
• For $35 you'll get a CD with the soundtrack – as unique as the movie. You can hear a sample here.
• For $45 you'll get a Blu-ray of our fantastic movie!
• For $150 you'll get a DVD of the movie PLUS a Mami Wata (voodoo water goddess for good health and fortune) statue from Benin, West Africa. Just like the one that Papa Joe uses for his blessings!
• For $250 you'll get a Blu-ray of the movie PLUS a Mami Wata statue from Benin, West Africa. A very powerful combination!
• For $500 you'll get the Blu-ray and the CD plus we’ll put your name in the credits at the end of the film as a special thanks.
• And our special offer: For $1,500 you'll get your very own personal voodoo ceremony in Benin/Africa. If you’re not able to get there on your own, you can send a photo of yourself instead and we’ll film the ceremony on location for you!

The Impact