THEMOVIES

In Lusgarda, the Afro-Caribbean rituals of the Ocho Dia (Eight Days) take centre stage: an eight-day mourning period following a burial. Family, friends and neighbours gather to honour the deceased and guide the spirit to the realm of the dead. The home of the deceased is transformed into a ritual space. In this film, however, it is not an actual deceased person that lies at the heart of the work, but the memory of the tradition itself. Cultural traditions such as the Ocho Dia have become increasingly less visible due to the intervention of the Church, and are now at risk of disappearing. As a viewer, you bear witness to an Ocho Dia ritual that mourns its own transience.