O POETA REI

“Even if my enemies were to take my kingdom and my people were to betray me, my heart would remain by my side,” wrote the poet-king Al-Mu’tamid, a man brimming with power and a profound love for life. This documentary, which flirts at times with fiction, is based on a book by the Portuguese writer Ana Cristina Silva, recreating his language and relationships, his emotions and his reflections, almost ten centuries after his birth. Filmmaker Carlos Gomes travels through Portugal, Spain and Morocco – territories shaped by the Al-Andalus – to meet contemporary artists engaged in a quest for the legend. They share voices and memories that reveal the legacy of the ruler of the taifas and his open, free spirit. This work attempts to capture him, if only partially, through his lyrical forms that continue to move and challenge our perspective on the world today.