Filmmaker Statement

The idea for “Papa Voodoo” germinated from the love of early folk stories which are often much darker than the ones we tend to experience today. The old stories were handed down in the oral tradition which meant they were always changing and bear the unmistakably hallmark of the collective human psyche in all its fantasies and terrors. They were meant to entertain, but perhaps more importantly they helped provide a psychological roadmap for the development of people living in their respective societies by both reflecting and informing the culture in which they were created and continually adapted. “Papa Voodoo” is a story about the precarious process of development, the dangers of both refusing to grow and the violence rendered when that process is compelled by force. In essence, it’s a story about a little boy who doesn’t want to grow up, and what happens when he’s forced to, one way or another.