Amerindia

In 1962 Joris Ivens was invited to Chile for teaching and filmmaking. Together with students he made …A Valparaíso, one of his most poetic films. Contrasting the prestigious history of the seaport with the present the film sketches a portrait of the city, built on 42 hills, with its wealth and poverty, its daily life on the streets, the stairs, the rack railways and in the bars. Although the port has lost its importance, the rich past is still present in the impoverished city. The film echoes this ambiguous situation in its dialectical poetic style, interweaving the daily life reality (of 1963) with the history of the city and changing from black and white to colour, finally leaving us with hopeful perspective for the children who are playing on the stairs and hills of this beautiful town.

On May 22, 1960, an earthquake with an intensity of 9.6 on the Richter Scale was recorded in the city of Valdivia, considered to date the largest and most violent earthquake ever recorded in the world. The cataclysm devastated the entire Chilean territory between Talca and Chiloé, which corresponds to more than 400,000 km. It resulted in the deaths of around three thousand people, while two million were left homeless. The film documents the efforts of a hundred workers in the face of the threat of the overflowing of Lake Riñihue.

Two women tell each other about their sorrowful lives, sailing in a boat that returns from the party of Jesus on Caguach Island.

The different works and routines typical from the lands near the canal of Larmahuino (or Almahuino).

Poetic look at the history and mysteries of Easter Island, through its landscapes, its mythical sculptures, as well as its parties, ceremonies, with abundant songs and dances, which become the true guides of the documentary. Also noteworthy is the annexation of the island to Chile, thanks to Policarpo Toro, captain of the Chilean Navy.