The Prophet
New Directors/New Films 2026
April 8 - 19
His belief wavering, a Mozambican pastor begins practicing witchcraft in this dreamlike fable from first-time feature director Ique Langa. As his flock grows, his conflicted soul becomes the location for a clash between postcolonial Christianity and folk spirituality.
Christian doctrine and black magic clash in this tale from Mozambique, shot over the course of nine years in the rural village of Manjacaze, hometown of filmmaker Ique Langa’s father. Leading the nonprofessional cast of local residents, Admiro De Laura Munguambe plays Hélder, a pastor tending to a dwindling congregation and weathering a crisis of faith. A journey through the wilderness leads him to a local witch, whose sorcery refreshes his spirit and yields material rewards: Hélder gains healing powers and new followers, but maintaining his growing reputation as a holy man demands greater and greater sacrifices. Photographed on film in stark and shimmering black and white (at times in a radically constricted aspect ratio), Langa’s haunting and deliberate feature debut—which premiered at the 2026 International Film Festival Rotterdam—draws inspiration from the masters of transcendental style, from Dreyer to Schrader, to unfurl a parable of faith, temptation, and ambition.
