After an intense summer with the return of music festivals, and an overwhelming  list of artists to see and places to go, a new festival emerges in the escape from that impetus. Ponto D’orvalho took place in Herdade do Barrocal de Baixo, Montemor-o-Novo, between the 14th and the 18th of September 2022. It manifests itself as a transdisciplinary festival open to discussion and environmental action through artistic, social and ecological practices.

At Ponto D’orvalho, music and performance unite for an ecological dialogue, looking for a solution to regenerate a collapsing planet.  Beyond music and performance, the festival brings together speakers, farmers, chefs, philosophers, activists, local experts and cultural drivers focused on promoting transformation and creating new narratives that allow us to envision a more sustainable future.

This year, the organization was guided by the question "How can we act so as to be useful to the living system of which we are a part of?". Seeking to answer this question, the programme was composed by artists and speakers such as António Mira, Chima Hiro, Coby Sey, Ecos do Monte Regional Female Choir, Diogo Noronha, Hatis Noit, Violeta Azevedo, among others.

Our team moved through the festival like voyeurs, letting themselves be carried away by all the activities. Woke up at dawn for the “Night Dew” performance by Violeta Azevedo and Isabel Costa, walked through the Alentejo cork oak forest, guided by biologist António Mira and artist Gabriela Albergaria, and ate agroecology-based products prepared by chef Diogo Noronha. Many other moments were also collected in this experimental documentary.

This was a unique sensory experience that brought us close to 'thinking like a forest', which is the purpose of the festival. Moved by the constant rush and input of new information, with this documentary, we propose to pause for a while and reflect on the relationship between the individuals, space and nature.