LEERE KIRCHE

The Lutheran Church runs Toby Ambohimahazo, a remote exorcism center near Antsirabe, Madagascar. In this area, people believe that mental illness is a form of spirit possession. Pierre, a man imprisoned for smoking weed, lives at the center with about 200 others deemed „possessed“. Rivo, the lead exorcist, holds daily religious rituals to save people through Jesus. The documentary gradually reveals repetitive routines as a reflection of institutional control. These rituals highlight the spiritual intensity that sustains the community, but also the quiet suffering of the people inside. The story of healing through faith shifts when Pierre is abused and mentally harmed, while Rivo desperately searches for a real case of possession.

EMPTY CHURCH is an observational examination of a spiritual system in which belief and nature become a burden on vulnerable lives.

Andreas Uranowicz photos © Uranowicz FILM