'The Prophet' Courtesy of IFFR Share on Facebook Share on X Google Preferred Share to Flipboard Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Send an Email Print the Article Post a Comment "Be careful with the doors you open," writer-director Ique Langa from Mozambique tells THR about one of the key themes that he explores in his feature debut O profeta (The Prophet), which world premieres in the Tiger Competition lineup of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) on Friday, Jan. 30. He created the striking black-and-white movie, which unfolds at a smoldering, meditative pace with some unusual camera angles, in a nine-year journey with a non-professional cast in Manjacaze, a small town in southern Mozambique. Related Stories Movies Amelia Dimoldenberg Set for Third Stint as Oscars' Social Media Ambassador and Red Carpet Correspondent Movies 'Hungry' Director on Her Sci-Fi Doc About a World Without Humans That Is "a Call to Action" The movie follows Pastor Hélder, who, as his faith wanes, turns to witchcraft and sacrifice to reclaim it. But can anyone really open Pandora's Box without consequences? The non-professional cast of the Portuguese-language film from producer Sousa Domingos includes Admiro De Laura Munguambe, Nora Matavel, Alexandre Masnado Coana, Venâncio Jaime Langa, Armando José Macave, and Yara Bonga. Denilson Pombo handled cinematography, Sara Carneiro the editing, and Langa himself was responsible for the production design. Luminalia is handling sales. Langa talked to THR about The Prophet, how transcendental filmmakers, Mozambican art and the inflation of pastors in the country inspired it, how he wrote and visualized the film in black and white, and what's next for him. "The story came from a very personal place," the creative shared in an interview. "It takes place in a village where I spent a lot of my childhood; my dad was born there, so I used to go there a lot. And in recent years in Mozambique, there's been a huge surge of these pastors, with a lot of rumors about them using alternative powers. There are all these churches that are coming out of nowhere with these pastors that are quote, unquote prophets." 'The Prophet' Courtesy of IFFR The filmmaker experienced this rapid increase himself during visits to the village. "I went to visit my aunt one time, and there was one church like that. When I went back two months later, there were three such churches," he recalled. "And when I went six months later, and there were seven. And the village is so small that they are at a five-minute distance." The spiritual themes of The Prophet allowed Langa to work through his "own questions about faith, about God, about where I come from," he shared. "So, the film became this metaphor of a pastor dealing with his faith. I started imagining, the same way that I sometimes have my struggles creatively and sometimes doubt myself, how it would be for a pastor who wants to grow his church in one way, and then sees someone with these shiny objects. Would he be tempted to go in that direction and also get shiny objects? And I thought even if someone is connected to a higher power, they're not fully disconnected from their human desires. Even though he is coming from a good place, he struggles." In contrast, the pastor's wife represents someone who is more grounded and satisfied with her place in the world. "She is a lot more connected to something profound," Langa explained. "She sees his true nature and still connects him to his true nature." Burdens of the present and the past loom underneath the surface as the film unfolds without any hurry. As such, The Prophet also allowed its creator to explore the "traumas, as well as gifts from my lineage, and consider what I can contribute to society, and what happens to our ancestors after they pass away." After all, in Mozambique, "we have a belief that once someone we love passes away, they become a spirit, and then eventually they become an ancestor. They go through their own journey," Langa emphasized. "So the movie explores that, but also the existence of traditional beliefs alongside Christian beliefs, and how they almost become one and inhabit the same place. Even though the pastor is in a Christian setting, he is still affected by the desire for something supernatural and seeking that." 'The Prophet' Courtesy of IFFR The film's protagonist may be a pastor, but his journey will feel recognizable, even familiar, to audiences, given mankind's search for more and better things. "He opens this door to get what he wants, but he doesn't know what he is going to get in exchange," highlighted the writer-director. "So, be careful with the doors you open, because you don't know what's in or behind them. It's a very human thing. There's always a door that we could open, and maybe there's a bunch of rewards, but we don't know what we'd be given in exchange. In the case of this movie, it's a