axé meus ancestrais

This VR story opens with Leandro, a non-binary, 12-year-old child playing basketball with his friends. Their game comes to a halt when Zé, Leandro’s bully shows up. Towering over him, the bully delivers blow after blow as Leandro’s consciousness leaves his reality.

Leandro enters the past, journeying to the shores of Bahia, Brazil where a group of enslaved ancestors practice capoeira in a roda (circle). He witnesses the transformative power of capoeira as the Africans connect with their true selves.

Built in Unreal Engine, this virtual reality experience takes advantage of motion capture technology and interactive design. axé mess ancestrais is an educational piece connecting the struggle of marginalized communities now to the history of capoeira as an Afro-Brazilian practice of rebellion and resistance.