Zemi

During his first international tour, Zemi, an up-and-coming Dominican rapper, faces the age-old battle between creative integrity and encompassing ambition. While external voices challenge his values, Zemi calls upon a powerful spirit to defend his truth.

This is film about a clash between self-discovery and the socioeconomic structures that merchandise and profit from the self. Which power dynamics come into play in the process of individuation? What does it mean to be who I am? To what extent do my beliefs, culture and history define me? These are some of the questions I’ve been asking myself for some time. I probably will never reach an absolute answer, however, both spirituality and music lay the foundations to explore them through both a postcolonial and postmodernist lens. Afro-Dominican traditional rhythms like Palos and contemporary Dembow bangers might bring us more reflections than expected about our past, present and future. And consequently, about ourselves.