Mateus Aleluia's spiritual nature is the focus of 'Points of strength', a sensorial documentary that premieres in São Paulo

Mateus Aleluia is the central axis of the narrative of the documentary 'Pontos de Força', directed and scripted by Vânia Lima
Reproduction / Film 'Pontos de Força'
♫ MUSICAL DOCUMENTARY CRITICISM
Title: Pontos de Força
Direction and script: Vânia Lima
Rating: ★ ★ ★ 1/2
♬ "Time is sovereign", emphasizes Mateus Aleluia at the beginning and end of the intentionally paused narrative of "Pontos de Força", a film that premieres next Saturday, June 20th, at the 18th edition of In-Edit Brasil, a music documentary festival that will be on display in São Paulo (SP) from June 17th to 28th.
It is during the contemplative time of the singer, composer and musician from Bahia that "Points of strength" was developed, a documentary directed and scripted by Vânia Lima.
The nature of Mateus Aleluia is the focus of this film governed by spirituality and which, due to the sensorial content of the narrative, is in tune with another documentary about the artist, "Aleluia - O canto Infini do Tincoã" (2020), directed by Tenille Bezerra and presented six years ago at the same In-Edit Brasil festival.
Among musical numbers captured outdoors in natural settings in Cachoeira (BA) and testimonies from tourist guides, historians and quilombola activists residing in the city of Bahia, "Points of strength" connects people with the same spiritual belief that everything begins in nature and that, without leaves, there is no life and there is no real cure for the physical and spiritual ills caused by industrial civilization.
By their very nature and cultural background, these people feed the high ancestry of Cachoeira (BA). birthplace of Aleluia, a city in Recôncavo Baiano with an Afro-Baroque atmosphere and geography. Speeches by religious leaders from the region contribute to the film opening a portal that takes the viewer to a universe immersed in spirituality and pride in Afro-Brazilian ancestry. The scene in which a teacher asks the children to repeat in chorus the cry "We are black. We are quilombolas" is moving.
Among takes filmed in terreiros and forests in Cachoeira (BA), a reference city in the cultural formation of the Brazilian people, "Points of strength" reveals itself to be a film with a Zen nature.
Even without contextualizing Mateus Aleluia's work in the Brazilian musical universe, especially because there seems to have been no concern to sprinkle information from the artist's biography throughout the 78 minutes of the script, "Points of strength" is illuminated by the soul of Mateus Aleluia, a kind of baobab, guardian of the ancestral traditions of the Afro-Brazilian people.
The film from the production company Tem Dendê is for those who have faith in spirituality and the belief that a divine energy imposes itself on all things.
Mateus Aleluia in a promotional image for the documentary 'Points of strength'
Vinicius Xavier / Disclosure
♪ It's time for Mateus Aleluia! The premiere of the film "Pontos de Força" precedes the launch of the book "Afrobarroco" at an event scheduled for July 8 at the Barris Central Library, in Salvador (BA).
Organized by Tenille Bezerra, director of the aforementioned documentary "Aleluia - The infinite corner of Tincoã", the book "Afrobarroco" weaves together texts, memories and foundations of the homonymous project developed by Mateus Aleluia since the 2000s through musical lectures, pedagogical meetings and activities designed with the aim of cultural training for audiences.
Thoughts about education, orality, religiosity, cultural coexistence and Brazilian identity form the culmination of the book "Afrobarroco".
Almost the entire initial print run of the book will be distributed free of charge and directed to schools, libraries, education projects and community and cultural centers. However, there will be occasional sales of some copies at Livraria Terra Libris, located at Cine Glauber Rocha, in the historic center of Salvador (BA).

Source: G1