Behind the scenes footage from SINNERS (the dancing with ancestors scene, which was shot in one day)

Behind the scenes footage from Sinners shows the dancing with ancestors scene, shot in one day. The sequence is a juke joint eruption set in 1930s Mississippi that bridges the living and the dead through performance. It starts as a backroom blues session with preacher boy Sammie, who strums a haunting gospel‑blues number, and then summons ancestors, African tribal dancers, shamans, ballerinas, twerking clubgoers, rock guitarists, and DJs from decades beyond. The energy becomes so intense the roof literally catches fire, filmed with a live fire captured in IMAX. Each section of the dance was shot in 90‑second bursts using IMAX reels, stitched together to create the illusion of one continuous moment. The scene was a large and complex set piece with hundreds of dancers, musicians, extras, and technicians, and it is the heartbeat of Sinners, a film about bloodlines, music, and the eternal connection between past and future.