Blackstar Sanctuary

Blackstar Sanctuary is a VR film experience that immerses viewers in queer African spiritual and cosmological traditions. Upon donning a VR headset, users are transported to ancient Egypt, where they are welcomed by the Rainbow Serpent, a mythical figure who serves as a guide. Following the Serpent’s path, users explore a vast temple complex adorned with towering sculptures of 16 queer African deities, each embodying a unique facet of divinity, and visit the tomb of Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep, the earliest recorded same-sex couple in human history, dating back to 2500 BCE. As users navigate the temple’s sacred spaces, they undergo a ritual of transformation and rebirth, watched over by deities and ancestors. Blending VR with queer history and spirituality, Blackstar Sanctuary reclaims and reanimates a long-suppressed lineage of queer African divinity and offers a powerful challenge to heteronormative interpretations of the past.