Return of the Spirits
The Tower of Crossed Destinies: Return of the Spirits
A journey through places where folktales are still alive and the line between the natural and supernatural is thin. With a storytelling performance by visual artist, storyteller and writer Guus Møystad.
From the forests of the Amazon to the riverbanks of Colombia and the haunted corners of Trinidad and Tobago, this short film program explores how folktales can be deeply woven into daily life. It highlights the thin borders between the living, the dead, the magical, and the earthy, and reveals how oral stories are deeply connected to both people and the land. Where the natural and supernatural collide, these films invite us to reconsider the role of folktales in today's society.
Tarot reading
Be sure to arrive earlier! Before the screening, immerse yourself in the mystical. Tarologist Safa Mirror will offer brief tarot readings in the project space area, providing insights into your past, present, and future.
Programme
Storytelling performance by Guus Møystad
Gus Moystad (1992) is a visual artist, writer and storyteller based in Amsterdam. He draws from history, fantasy and folklore, and is fascinated by liminality – the interplay between individuals and community, inclusion and exclusion, tradition and renewal – and the boundaries and vulnerabilities of the body.
Field Notes (Vashti Harrison, TT 2014, 18’)
Field Notes is an experimental portrait of the ghosts embedded in the culture of Trinidad and Tobago. The film is structured as a visual and aural field guide to the ghosts, spirits and jumbies all over the island: from personal tales about shapeshifters and bloodsuckers, to the ghosts of Trinidad’s past.
Our Song to War (Nuestro canto a la guerra) (Juanita Onzaga, CO/BE 2018, 14’)
Crocodile-men, a mystic river, some kids who like fishing, and a war that is coming to an end all share the same Colombian land: Bojaya. In this place, villagers have strange beliefs and celebrate the “Novenario” death ritual. This might be the beginning of a very long story, where spirits and humans meet each other to learn what there is to life after the end of war.
Curupira, Creature of the Woods (Curupira, bicho do mato) (Felix Blume, BR/MX/FR 2019, 35’)
Deep in the heart of the Amazon, Tauary inhabitants invite us to listen to the sounds of the jungle, the birds, and animals. However, some strange sounds appear — a creature prowling around the trees. Some have heard her, very few have ever seen her, and those who encountered her never returned. She charms, she enchants, she leads people to get lost: each one of the inhabitants tells their own story and tries to decipher her sounds.
This is part of
Details
Production year
2025
Length
89 min.
Event language
English
Country
NL
Subtitles
English
Part of
Programmers of the Future 2025
Three new Programmers of the Future present their film programmes in Eye Filmmuseum this July. With films about the magic of a spontaneous encounter in a public space, about folklore, fairy tales and mythology, and about memory as an act of resistance.
Eye Film Player
On the Eye Film Player, you can also enjoy beautifully restored versions of early cinema trick films from the Eye collection, featuring the famous fairies — tiny cinematic gems in their own right, restored by Eye curator Elif Rongen-Kaynakçi. The films will be available from 15 July.
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