Screening of No Paiz das Amazonas (In the Land of the Amazons, Silvino Santos, 1922, 129')
When:
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Venue:
Birkbeck 43 Gordon Square
No booking required
This is a unique opportunity to see pioneering moving images of Amazonia in the early twentieth century.
Silvino Santos (1886-1970) was a Portuguese immigrant who was sent to Paris in 1913 by the Peruvian rubber baron Julio César Arana to learn the art of filmmaking with the Pathé brothers. Arana hoped the film would provide evidence to defend him from allegations of atrocities against indigenous peoples in the Putumayo region. In the end, the Putumayo film was lost, but Santos started working in Manaus for another rubber baron, J.G. Araújo. It was for him that the documentary No Paiz das Amazonas was produced, to be shown in the 1922 International Exhibition in Rio de Janeiro, marking the centenary of Brazilian independence.
Using footage made on his travels of more than 10,000 kilometres throughout Amazonia, Santos produced a view of the region as a modern, productive place, ready for future investment. The film was restored and the DVD launched with a new soundtrack in 2014.
The film will be introduced by Luciana Martins.
Book your free place to the screening and you will have a chance to win free copies of the DVD!