A fragment of the film Terra Encantada (Silvino Santos, 1923) opens Estiva. In this shot, there is a group of men, women, and children with their backs to the camera on the old Avenida Beira Mar. They look out at the view of the bay, where a ship approaches in the distance. Could they be waiting for the ship's arrival? Estiva portrays the Rio de Janeiro of immigrants in the early twentieth century. Immigrants whose passages were paid for by the Brazilian government traveled in third class, in the ships' holds. The country's political project was to promote the settlement of national territory and the creation of colonial settlements with poor, white foreigners willing to work.
The short film evokes the terrible accommodations of the immigrant ships and the neglect faced by these passengers through letters written to their families in Europe, testimonies left behind, passports, and various documents. There is longing for what was left behind, a sense of impermanence, and the joy of arriving in the land of opportunity. The photographs showing Cais Pharoux (present-day Praça XV) and its surroundings seek to evoke the perspective of someone arriving in the capital from afar. Another film revisited shows the arrival of foreigners at the Immigrant Hostel on Ilha das Flores, located in São Gonçalo.
Read Eduardo Morettin's essay on “Estiva” here
