The Abbey of Thelema in Sicily was a small house used in the 1920s for magical rituals by Aleister Crowley, the famous occultist with links to Fernando Pessoa, and his followers. Years later, experimental director Kenneth Anger and sexologist Alfred Kinsey visit the place.
The Theleme Abbey in Sicily, where the famous occultist Aleister Crowley, also a poet, novelist and painter, lived, is the setting for us to penetrate the world of this figure of satanic imagery. The building’s surroundings serve the image and a diary of the self-named “Beast 666” is recounted. An intimate notebook unfolds with the reading of a list of magic rituals, insanities, drug use, poltergeists, sexual practices, visceral poems – a true mirror of evil deeds. The ruins of the building are shown, the film thickens in form, it abstracts, the shadow floods the plan, and the sound thickens the dark atmosphere. An unfinished film by Kenneth Anger rediscovers this universe and perpetuates the curiosity of a cursed man. (Carlota Gonçalves)
