Part of ProtoZone16: Hallucinogenesis, 13.09.-03.11.2024

La danza de las almas muertas / The dance of dead souls

Set in the coast and desert of La Guajira, a region located in the Caribbean on the border between Colombia and Venezuela, a Wayuu artist invites a queer artist to create an art piece that goes beyond their identities.

The installation they create together intertwines body, dance, and territory. In the process, oral memory is revealed through images that merge the fantastic and the futuristic with documentary and performative elements.

This installation integrates video and ancestral techniques of Wayuu weaving, transforming the Chinchorro (Wayuu hammock) and fique fiber into visual canvases.

Artistic Directors: Elizabeth Pirela & Simon(e) Jaikiriuma Paetau

Produced by: Maiitui Films – Elizabeth Pirela & Atelier Lapaetau – Laura Paetau & Simon(e) Jaikiriuma Paetau

Co-produced by: Weltfilm – Kristina Konrad

Director of Photography: Elizabeth Pirela

Performed by: Simon(e) Jaikiriuma Paetau

Art Director: Christian Küllmei

Costume Design: Moisés Acosta, Christian Küllmei, Elizabeth Pirela, Simon(e) Jaikiriuma Paetau

Dramaturgy: Laura Paetau

Field Producer: Nestor Uriana

1st Assistant Camera: Jarlen Herrera Uriana

Production Assistants: Luis Herrera Uriana, Imanol Coronado Arpushana

Still Photography: Jairo Sijuna Ipuana

Editing: Elizabeth Pirela & Simon(e) Jaikiriuma Paetau

Sound Design: Rubén Valdes

Music: El León del Sol by Royal Dust feat. Aérea Negrot

Post-Production & Color Grading: Martin Backhaus

Distribution: Lucía González García

With the kind support of Weltfilm – Kristina Konrad, Shedhalle, Südkulturfonds, the Ilse-Augustin-Stiftung & the Department of Culture and Social Cohesion of the Senate of Berlin.

Elizabeth Pirela González is an interdisciplinary Wayuu artist from the Epieyuu clan, known for her ability to merge the cultural traditions of her people with contemporary artistic expressions. Her work includes experimental film, literature, and academic articles with a decolonial approach. Through her work, she explores and challenges dominant narratives, offering a multidisciplinary perspective that unites the past, present, and future in the experiences and histories of her people.

Simon(e) Jaikiriuma Paetau is a German-Colombian interdisciplinary artist whose work spans video art, installations, experimental cinema, and performance, with a focus on decolonial themes and queer cultures. Simon(e) has focused on inventing myths and utopias inspired by rural and urban cultures in Colombia that move away from hegemonic discourses; creating interdisciplinary art works and collaborations with racialized artists and communities that have been historically made invisible.