Q&A with Director Gabriel Mascaro

What is the evangelical phenomenon like in Brazil?

According to official data, since 2010, a new religious organisation has been registered almost every hour in Brazil. The gradual fusion between the state and religion is constant, and in a few years the diverse practices of evangelical Christianity will surpass as the religious majority of Brazil. While generalisations are dangerous, and the Evangelical movement in Brazil is very heterogeneous, the more conservative line has gained much ground in the country, society and its political institutions.

Is the film a dystopian reading of the future?

Joana, the film’s protagonist, would say that this is a utopian film because she is living a moment in history when God is more integrated into day-to-day life than ever before, which is her mission. Even when confronted with a crisis in her own marriage, provoked in part by religious activities that she engages in, her belief is galvanised, bringing her even closer to God.

Joana embodies a rare Brazilian anti-heroine who uses ethically questionable methods in pursuit of her unwavering belief in God. Empowered by the Kafkaesque bureaucracy of the notary’s office where she works, she pursues her religious mission with subversive and radical power.

The film aims to go beyond a utopia/dystopia binary; I tried to reinterpret Brazil’s increasingly powerful and dominant Christian nationalist identity through unexpected cultural appropriations (from pop gospel to porn) woven throughout the film in a biblical and erotic narrative about faith and power.

Why did you decide to tell the story of a woman who is part of a conservative religion but that participates in an unusually liberal sexual therapy?

Between her bureaucratic profession and her missionary piety, the protagonist Joana challenges some notions of the role of the body as a libertarian agent. She uses her own body to radicalise the conservative religious agenda in order to strengthen the Christian family. Her body is an instrument of faith and proof of her love of God.

The group Divine Love is a religious couples’ therapy with clear rules and objectives. The group uses extreme methods to preserve the traditional family under the slogan ‘True love never cheats, True Love Shares.’ Joana is a woman who does everything for love. In Joana’s body lies the ambivalence of an entity that gives to receive and of a body that multiplies.

How did you create the aesthetic of the film Divine Love?

Aestheticism is a very special topic when thinking about evangelical culture in Brazil, since its brand is breaking away from the tradition of holy art. Curiously, by negating Christian iconography, other specific elements have become integrated into evangelical imagery in Brazil: intertwined curtains, powerful speakers on display, plastic chairs, believers wearing formal clothes, pastors speaking loudly. But it was very important to me not make a caricature of the religion. We came across several reports where evangelicals expressed profound discomfort with the visual caricature of their roles on Brazilian television. Therefore, our goal was to reread these codes and project a near future without naivety or stereotypes, whilst also taking some risks. This happened thanks to contributions from my art team, costume, composers, DoP, cast, and the strength of the actress that is Dira Paes, who gave body and light to Joana.

What does the film mean in the current Brazilian political context?

There is a broad front in Congress composed by what in Brazil is called the ‘BBB Caucus’ (Bulls, Bible, and Bullets), representing agrobusiness, evangelicals, and armament. President Bolsonaro, has just created the ‘Ministry of Women, the Family and Human Rights’ putting the family at the heart of the state, led by a profoundly religious minister. The signs are very clear that there is a new plan for Brazil, one that is being led by powerful conservative and religious forces. Here I propose a film that uses the allegory of an improbable future to talk about the present. Rather than comment on traditional stereotypes of the church such as pressure to donate or money laundering, Divine Love focuses on the philosophical project of power. There are minority views in the evangelical tradition itself that are questioning improper commercial and political use of faith, for example. The manifestation of evangelism in Brazil is diverse and complex but the fact is that faith is now the principal Brazilian commodity.