Features
Paula Lindo
Netflix’s new documentary, Bigger Than Africa, which premieres May 13, features Trinidad and Tobago as one of six places where Yoruba culture endured.
Local interviewees include cultural activist Eintou Pearl Springer, historian Valerie Taylor and the late artist LeRoy Clarke.
The Netflix synopsis said the film follows the transatlantic route of the slave trade from West Africa to the US, Nigeria, Brazil, Benin Republic, TT and Cuba in an exploration of Yoruba culture. It explores the reasons for the strong and enduring presence of Yoruba culture in these countries and the role that spirituality played in the struggle for emancipation as well as in the Civil Rights Movement.
In a statement, Springer said, “This is a very timely intervention, given that African spirituality is still viewed so negatively in TT. I am glad that this element of our culture will be shown through this film that is broadcast to the world via the platform Netflix.”
The announcement said that TT remains one of the few countries in the world that has an Orisha Marriage Act and the option for worshipers who appear in court to swear on an iron block representing Orisa Ogun.
Scenes for the film were shot throughout TT at a number of shrines, Orisha gardens and at the Tobago Heritage Festival.
The director of the movie, Oluwatoyin Ibrahim Adekeye, attended the premiere of the movie at the 2018 edition of the TT Film Festival and has screened the movie widely all over the world.
In an interview with Deadline Magazine, Adekeye said, “I hope it becomes a unifying documentary for all people of African descent, regardless of their countries. It is a film that uniquely tells the stories of our commonalities rather than our differences.”
