Netherlands

37′11″, 2025

DIRECTED BY

Sarah Elisabeth Noordeloos

PRODUCED BY

Sarah Elisabeth Noordeloos

SCRIPTWRITER

Sarah Elisabeth Noordeloos

CINEMATOGRAPHER

Sarah Elisabeth Noordeloos

EDITED BY

Sarah Elisabeth Noordeloos

In Axim, Ghana, ancestral beliefs have long influenced the fishing practices of fishermen and fishmongers. Especially the god of the sea, BebuAyisi, once revered by fishing communities in Ghana. Now, in postcolonial context, I start my search for these gods, looking for their significance. Along the way I discover that new gods have been introduced and dominate the surface, pushing other beliefs below the surface. A layered journey unfolds, visualising the existing tensions between beliefs, traditions and modernity.

 

Sarah Elisabeth Noordeloos is a PhD student from the Netherlands. Below the Surface: In Search for the Sea God was made for the purposes of her Master’s thesis in Visual anthropology at the University of Leiden.