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 11 of 12
July 17, 2021
Two members from the Comando Golgota, a militarized evangelical militarized grou, pray after returning from the 13km walk. In the second day of the camp, the students go inside the forest for a 13km walk. When they return, a collective catharsis happens and everyone starts screaming and crying. The students from Comando Golgota learn the rules of the military hierarchy, such as the continence and how to call their superiors, mixed with evangelical features. The camp takes place in small communities and mixes the military universe with the religion. There are hierarchies among the members, organized by time and presence during the Comando’s history. During some part of the camp, the members pretend that they are the police from an anti christian country that does not accept evangelicals. The participants of the camp are the missionaries who have to survive and keep their church alive.
Location
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