The Strange Story of Prince Dethmer
In a popular neighborhood of Brazzaville, Prince Dethmer, a famous Congolese dancer, has just died. His family organises his burial, inviting all of his artist friends to pay him their final tribute.
After working as an assistant to French director Philippe Garrel for ten years, Hadrien La Vapeur started directing his own experimental films in Super 8. At the same time, his photographic work led him to explore abandoned places in search of forgotten presences. In 2009, as he pursued his quest for uncultivated buildings in Rio de Janeiro, he landed by mistake in a possession ritual. This encounter with the spirits upsets his vision of the world and urges La Vapeur to investigate the relationships that humans can maintain with invisible entities. In 2013, he went to Congo, where men live daily with disembodied beings, in order to immerse himself in this reality and shoot documentaries in the style of direct cinema.