Maria Bethania: Music Is Perfume

Maria Beth?nia is a towering figure in Brazilian music. Coming from a musical family (her mother was a singer and her brother Caetano Veloso is also a popular vocalist), Beth?nia began performing in public at the age of 16 at the behest of the brother, and early in her career she worked with a number of the most influential figures in the Tropicalia movement, including Gilberto Gil, Tom Z?, and Gal Costa. In the 1970s, Maria came into her own as one of the leading stars in Brazilian music. Her 1978 album Alibi became the first album to earn a gold record through prerelease sales in Brazil, and went on to sell a million copies -- and her dramatic style earned her fans as diverse as Nina Simone and Jeanne Moreau, both of whom recorded with her. Maria Beth?nia: Music Is Perfume is a documentary that follows the great singer as she records a new album and prepares for a concert tour, sharing her views on music and the creative process as well as her emotional ties with the land of her birth. Maria Beth?nia: Music Is Perfume received its North American debut at the 2005 Vancouver Film Festival.