Stephanie Pommez The Enchanted Ones
Where reality meets myth
by Petra Barkhof
These photographs touched me deeply. They have a quiet strength that makes you pause and look again.
The Enchanted Ones by Stephanie Pommez is a visual story set along the banks of the Brazilian Amazon, where the daily life of the Ribeirinhos — the river dwellers — flows together with the tales kept and passed on by traditional midwives. In this world, the line between what is real and what is unseen becomes almost invisible.
At the heart of the book are the encantados — shape-shifting beings said to live in rivers and forests, moving between human and spirit. Shot on 35mm black and white film, the work goes beyond documentary. Grain, light and shadow give the images a tactile presence, like the feeling of water on skin.
Over time, Pommez discovered that the midwives were not only guardians of new life, but also of memory and tradition. Through births, stories and gestures, they keep people, river and forest connected.
Published by Kehrer Verlag, The Enchanted Ones is a tribute to this culture where everyday life and legend are inseparable. A book that makes you believe in parallel worlds — the one we see, and the one we feel.
I closed it with a strong sense of belonging — and yes, a little enchanted.
Stephanie Pommez is a photographer and filmmaker based in New York and Paris. Her work has been published and exhibited internationally, and her documentaries have aired on National Geographic, Arte, TV Cultura and TV5.
