CPOY

CPOY 76 Documentary Gold: Golgotha

Golgotha: In Hebrew, "The Place of the Skull". In the Bible, the hill where Jesus was crucified. In the Roman Empire, the most cruel penalty. In Israel, the main pilgrimage point. Contemporary Brazil brings this dual meaning of Golgotha: a territory where is a death machine, but also the place of sacrifice, resurrection and redefinition of meanings. Researchers predict that by 2032, the majority of the Brazilian population will be converted to Evangelical Christianity. At the same time, an ultra conservative, populist, right-wing wave, led by President Jair Bolsonaro, is washing over the country. I propose telling this story from the perspective of individuals that seem to have little in common, aside from sharing their faith. However, their dreams, ambition, and desire for life and opportunity both explains and complexifies the understanding of what it means to be Evangelical in contemporary Brazil. The project tries to understand the different faces of evangelization in the country, trying to find the gaps in between the biblical and the tupiniquim, the Jesus green and yellow from the Brazilian Flag and the creative contradictions it brings. It looks at the place where the people put their faith, sometimes their money and many others their anguishes and ambitions.

Caption
Slide 5 of 12
October 25, 2019
Missionaria Jesus Cristo (Missionary Church Jesus Christ) hold the body of an uncontrolled boy. According to the members of the church, a demon had dominated his body and it was freed by Jesus during the service. The pastor said this boy had tried to kill himself weeks before. This small church , in Sao Goncalo, Metropolitan Region of Rio, is known in the city for different miracles, according to its members. It is part of the Neopetencostal movement in Brazil. Although many aspects of this theology come from the USA, when it arrived in Brazil many new aspects were integrated. The “demons’’ act as the spirits in afrobrazilian religions, local instruments from Samba and Forró are played instead of Europeans’ and the rhythm the musicians play is also very similar to african beats. Evangelical Neopentecostal churches have been growing fast in Brazil and have a big support from the president Jair Bolsonaro.
Location
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