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France-Brazil Season

I am myself the Sun – Afro-Atlantic crossing in Brazil

I am myself the Sun – Afro-Atlantic crossing in Brazil

© MansA

From November to December 2025, MansA presents Je suis moi-même le Soleil, the second part of the Saison croisée France-Brésil. In São Paulo, Salvador and Rio de Janeiro, a multidisciplinary program highlights Afrodescendant creations and diasporic memories through art, gastronomy and immersive technologies.

Borrowed from Senegalese filmmaker Ousmane Sembène, the expression "I am the Sun" becomes evident. It affirms the inner light, the power of self-determination, and the creativity of the peripheries. The France–Brazil Cross Season 2025, supported by the Institut français and the Instituto Guimarães Rosa, serves as the framework for this second part, which extends the cycle Perifeeria cycle presented in France. In Brazil, MansA weaves a sensitive geography connecting the shores of the Black Atlantic—from São Paulo to Salvador, then to Rio de Janeiro.

São Paulo – Kancícà, a bridge between visible and invisible worlds

From November 14 to 20, 2025, the Centro Cultural Tendal da Lapa presents Kancícà , an immersive installation conceived by Joséphine Derobe and Laeïla Adjovi, with a sound design by Tiganá Santana. Blending virtual reality and spiritual poetry, the viewer follows Dotou, a young cartographer, on the trail of Na Agontimé, Queen of Dahomey, who was enslaved and then deported to Brazil. Co-produced by MansA and Dream Feel Factory, the work celebrates the enduring connections between memory, transmission, and Afro-descendant cultures.

In parallel, on November 14 at 2 p.m., a round table will bring together the two artists with Will Futuro, as part of the MixBrasil Festival.

Salvador – Memories are cooked up at Casa do Benin

On November 20 and 21, 2025, Salvador becomes the beating heart of the crossing. At Casa do Benin, researchers and chefs from Brazil, Africa and France - Solange (Culinária de Terreiro), Adéchina Padonou, Ana Célia (Zanzibar) and Coralie Kory (Jah Jah Paris) - come together to explore Afro-Atlantic memory through taste. With culinary demonstrations, spiritual discussions, a collective banquet and sets by DJs Lys Ventura and Anaïs Sylla, the event celebrates Black Consciousness Day by paying tribute to the living knowledge of the diaspora.

Rio de Janeiro – The Sun rises at MAR

From November 27 to December 9, 2025, Kancícà will be on display at the Museu de Arte do Rio (MAR). The final stage of this sensory journey, Rio extends the dialogue between art, memory, and spirituality.

São Paulo

Tendal da Lapa Cultural Center – R. Guaicurus, 1100, Água Branca, São Paulo – SP, 05033-002

November 14–20, 2025
Kancícà: screenings on November 14 (4–8 p.m.), 15, 16, 18, 20 (3–9 p.m.) / Closed on November 17

Duration: 30 min / Capacity: 20 people

November 14
2 p.m.: Round table discussion

Salvador

Casa do Benin, R. Pe Agostinho Gomes, 17, Pelourinho, Salvador – BA, 40025-005

November 20
11 a.m.: Round table discussion with the four chefs, moderated by Adriele Regine
1:30 p.m.: Cooking demonstration: Ana Célia (Zanzibar, BR) & Coralie Kory (FR), followed by a shared buffet
3 p.m.: DJ set: Lys Ventura

November 21
6 p.m.: Cooking demonstration: Adéchina Wenceslas Padonou & Chef Solange (Culinária de Terreiro) — Spirituality and food
8 p.m.: Final banquet around the Tata Zumba table
8:30 p.m.: Live concert: Anaïs Sylla

Rio de Janeiro

Rio Art Museum (MAR), Praça Mauá, 5, Saúde, Rio de Janeiro – RJ, 20081-240

November 27 → December 9
Kancícà: continuous screenings
Duration: 30 min / Capacity: 20 people