Vodou, Candomblé, Santería, and Obeah are living religions practiced throughout the Caribbean and across the Americas. Yet in the popular imagination, these complex systems of philosophy, cosmology, and community care have too often been reduced to “black magic,” with Vodou in particular cast as something dangerous and evil. Early twentieth century zombie stories, largely created by white men, introduced Haitian Vodou to Western audiences through a lens of fear and fantasy. Even as the zombie later evolved into a different kind of monster, the damage to how Vodou and Black spirituality were perceived remained. Afro-Caribbean Canadian filmmaker Maya Bedward’s feature documentary Black Zombie examines the long history of appropriation and the systematic vilification of Black spiritual traditions. From the haunted cane fields of colonial Haiti to the flickering screens of Hollywood horror, the film traces the journey of the zombie, unearthing its buried origins and reclaiming it as a symbol of survival and spiritual resistance. By centering the voices of contemporary practitioners, Bedward hopes to show that Vodou is not only surviving, but continuing its resistance to colonial power through reclamation, narrative sovereignty, and collective healing.

Maya Annik Bedward
Maya Annik Bedward is a Black Canadian filmmaker of Afro-Caribbean descent. Her work has screened at TIFF, Hot Docs, Black Star and the New Orleans Film Festival. In 2023, her short film Patty vs. Patty won best Short Documentary at the Canadian Screen Awards. She has directed episodes for the comedy variety series, Lido TV (CBC Gem) and the docuseries BLK: An Origin Story (History Channel, Global TV). Bedward is a fellow of the EFM Toolbox Programme and founding member of the Black Screen Office.