Ines Johnson-Spain

L'esprit de Madjid

Ines Johnson-Spain

It is a film about Madjid: He is gay and a follower of voodoo. We meet him at his workplace; a tiny barbershop called "Prince Coiffure" in Lome where he talks about his universe which is populated by spirits of male, female and multiple sexes with who he is in contact. They define his understanding of himself in the context of social relations and offer him pragmatic solutions in his every day life. For him the representations of different genders are naturally part of the traditional believe system of voodoo. He sees a causal link between his homosexuality and his personal voodoo spirits. Madjid is regularly participating in voodoo ceremonies which signify protection, comfort, social integration, and guidance for him. He invites us to participate in one of these ceremonies.

Becoming Black

Ines Johnson-Spain

Ines Johnson-Spain, Armin Gundermann

In the 1960s, a white couple living in East Germany tells their dark-skinned child that her skin color is merely a coincidence. As a teenager, she accidentally discovers the truth. Years before, a group of African men came to study in a village nearby. Sigrid, an East German woman, fell in love with Lucien from Togo and became pregnant. But she was already married to Armin. The child is Togolese-East German filmmaker Ines Johnson-Spain. In interviews with Armin and others from her childhood years, she tracks the astonishing strategies of denial her parents, striving for normality, developed following her birth. What sounds like fieldwork about social dislocation becomes an autobiographical essay film and a reflection on themes such as identity, social norms and family ties, viewed from a very personal perspective.