This unconventional film follows internationally renowned philosopher-poet Bayo Akomolafe, a time-traveling “fugitive” who tries to escape a colonized future. His destiny is simple: to return home, to his family, and to a sink full of dishes waiting for him. But when notions of time are inverted by an encounter with a crossroads of Exu, “home” ceases to be a fixed point, his odyssey becomes not a problem to solve, but an invitation to meet, dance with, and learn from him.
Why this film?
We are dealing with increasingly greater global challenges, and we realize that we do not have the cognitive resources to create new questions for old problems. In this film, we will investigate how cosmologies and perceptions of the world can make room for other ways of living on a collapsing planet
What’s different about this film?
Plenty of documentaries and artistic projects address the climate crisis. However, we believe there’s a large gap, especially in Brazil, in taking systemic approaches that interconnect the economic, social, racial, political, and ecological crises, as observed in Bayo’s vision.His poetic perspective, which brings philosophical theories that rise from spiritual visions, resonates with many people who are eager to feel part of a possible transformation in the world.
Nossa
História
In March 2018, in a small town in southwest England, inside a 14th-century stone building, Maria Clara Parente, the film's director, listened to Bayo Akomolafe for the first time. The next day, Maria Clara filmed an interview with him for the docuseries This is Not the Truth. It was the beginning of a long-lasting partnership.
So, after filming this interview, we started, together with Ana Clara Cenamo from the Spanda Production team, developing a documentary series called What is Emerging?, where Bayo was one of the people we interviewed in the film. To bring Bayo to film in Brazil, we partnered with Emerge(A Berlin-based media platform) and received funds that made his trip from Chennai (India) to Brazil possible. Since then, Bayo has come three more times to Brazil, and on one of these trips, we filmed an interview with him for the feature documentary "Regenerar: Possible Paths on a Damaged Planet."
In six years, we’ve developed a friendship and a synergy of ways of thinking and a growing interest in Bayo's ideas portrayed in the other films we’ve done with him. That's how the idea of creating this particular film, focused on Bayo's work, came to life. We believe his unique approach to climate crises through afrocene lenses is necessary nowadays. This film is part of a project called Regenerar, which creates films for a change of consciousness addressing climate collapse. The project is a partnership between Spanda Produtora, created by Ana Clara Cenamo, and Simbiótica Filmes, created by Maria Clara.
“Ofereço um convite para “desacelerar”, o que parece ser a coisa errada a fazer quando há fogo na montanha. Mas a questão é a seguinte: ao 'apressarmo-nos' a toda a hora, perdemos muitas vezes de vista a abundância de recursos que nos podem ajudar a enfrentar as crises mais difíceis da atualidade. Apressamo-nos a seguir os mesmos padrões a que estamos habituados. É claro que não existe uma única forma de responder a uma crise; não existe uma forma universalmente correta. No entanto, o apelo para desacelerar funciona para nos colocar face a face com o invisível, o oculto, o não notado, o ainda por resolver.”
- Bayo Akomolafe
Creative Team
Bayo Akomolafe
Writer | Producer
Bayo Akomolafe (Ph.D.), rooted with the Yoruba people in a more-than-human world, is the father to Alethea and Kyah, the grateful life-partner to Ije, son and brother. A widely celebrated international speaker, post-humanist thinker, poet, teacher, public intellectual, essayist, and author of two books, These Wilds Beyond our Fences: Letters to My Daughter on Humanity’s Search for Home (North Atlantic Books) and We Will Tell our Own Story: The Lions of Africa Speak.
Maria Clara Parente
Director | Writer | Producer
Maria Clara Parente is a film director, author, journalist, and researcher. For nearly a decade, she has directed, scripted, and presented multiple documentary films focusing on climate change, decolonization, and feminism- granting her various awards and nominations worldwide- including winning “Best Nonfiction Scriptwriter” at the 2019 Rio WebFest (Brazil), Best Director at the 2023 Tietê Film Awards (Brazil) and Best International Feature Documentary at the 2023 OFFCINEDOC Film Festival (Spain).
Ana Clara Cenamo
Executive Producer
Ana Clara Cenamo is a psychologist, geographer, and executive producer with a background in psychoanalysis and a deep focus on ancestral worldviews. She founded Spanda Produtora in 2014 and is the co-creator of the musical project Emanazul, which features 20 tracks available on Spotify. With more than 150 filmes produced, her notable works include the documentary Leões de Paraisópolis (2017), in partnership with ESPN, and the series This is Not the Truth (2018-2019). In 2022, she released the award-winning documentary Regenerar – Caminhos Possíveis em um Planeta Machucado, featuring philosopher Báyò Akómláfé.
Dedicated to fostering a more compassionate world, she integrates innovation, artistic sensitivity, and transformative storytelling into her projects, blending creativity with social impact.
Mark Benjamin
Producer | Assistant Director
Filmmaker and artist. Benjamin lived in New York for years, working on various projects, including short and feature films, both fiction and documentary, as well as major television productions.
His experiences as a trans man have inspired most of his projects—both documentary and fiction—aiming to highlight and present unheard voices and stories. The films he has produced have been screened worldwide, earning over 15 awards across multiple countries.
Bruna Trindade
Writer
Bruna Trindade is a Brazilian writer, director, and actress. She is also a partner and member of Ritornelo.
She has worked as a screenwriter for series on Globoplay, Paramount+, Disney+, and Multishow. She was the director and screenwriter of the series Terapia em Família (Cine Brasil TV) and the screenwriter of the feature film Down By The River, a co-production between the Irish company Morgan Brothers and the Portuguese company Zul Filmes.
Bruna is the co-creator and screenwriter of the comedy series Teia (Urca Filmes), whose pilot was a finalist at the Fade To Black festival, winner of the Prêmio Cabíria de Roteiro, and selected for the GRIOT Lab – Black Film Festival. The project also won a pitching award from Projeto Paradiso (2020).
Jon Marro
Art Director
Jon Marro is an artist and creative director who has collaborated with clients such as Jason Mraz, Dave Matthews, Maroon 5, Madonna, Whole Foods Market, MTV, CBS, and even His Holiness the Dalai Lama. He currently lives and works in Southern California within a community of artists and activists dedicated to changing the world by transforming themselves.
Danilo Mantovani
Director of Photography
Since the beginning of his career in digital media, Danilo has gained significant experience that shaped him as a director and photographer. He founded two production companies, spent three years at Conspiração Filmes, and since 2015, as an independent professional, has been working as a director of photography and director on projects for Netflix series, films, advertising, and music videos.
Soon, a teaser for you
Behind the scenes photos from the filming of the teaser for the documentary "The Times are Urgent, Let's Slow Down."