Screening of the documentary “Vārpa–The promised land”

Duration: 92 minutes, Latvian with English subtitles 

Screening commences at 1:30 pm at the Latvian Hall in Woolloongabba

$10 Film tickets

$10 Light refreshments including coffee/tea. Beverages can be purchased at the bar.  

Vārpa – The promised land

The 2017 documentary film tells the story of Latvian migration to Brazil in the early 1920s, only a few

years after establishing the independent Latvian State. Fleeing from the “red serpent” to await the end

of the world in Brazil, over 2000 Baptists left their homeland settled in harsh conditions in virgin

rainforest. Eyewitness accounts from the first colonists and interviews with their descendants reveal the

harrowing acclimatization to their new life, when more than 200 people died in the first difficult years.

Alongside rich historical material, the film also portrays the township of Vārpa today. Thanks to longterm

and ethnic and religious isolation, Vārpa still exists as a Latvian island in Brazil’s interior. The few

remaining members of the older generation still speak and sing in Latvian, bake rye bread and keep a

coffin in the attic, although the younger and middle generations have abandoned the town.

This film screening is a fundraiser for the ‘Latvians Abroad - Museum and Research Centre’. The film was scripted by Marianna Auliciema, who moved from Brisbane to Latvia 18 years ago

Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1913500958899988