Parajuru is a fishing village located on the north-east coast of Brazil. For three years, a wealthy Austrian, Giselle, has been investing there for developing tourism: buying lands, building houses and a luxury hotel... Gisi, as she is called there, acts in the economic field but also carries out social projects. She has created a school for the children of the village and runs German and English courses. Some young people have even been sent to Austria for internships programmes.

Parajuru is living more and more under Austrian influence. Therefore, some of the locals start to bring into question the intentions of this woman who buys everything in the village, without ever communicating with its people.

Chico Mariano, the president of the fishermen association, has a perspective on the issue. Even if he is not against Gisi’s projects, he knows that an uncontrolled development of tourism can gradually compromise the villagers as a unity. He also knows that the nearby nature reserve caught the attention of Gisi and other property speculators. He sets himself a mission: to defend the interests of the community.

This film presents the portrait of a village undergoing a considerable transformation, torn between the desire for economic development and the wish for preserving its traditional lifestyle.

Parajuru: from one world to another

 
Initially, there was nothing original about Parajuru: a tropical paradise, a large unspoilt beach with, at one side, people carrying out traditional activities such as fishing and crafts and, at the other, a real estate developer working for tourism growth. However, the project is already showing its consequences for the village. The price of land has increased dramatically; more and more foreigners (mostly Austrian) are settling in luxury villas. But this economic development brings almost no benefits to the villagers, who are concerned about the long-term consequences of an uncontrolled tourism.

Their fears are reinforced by other examples in the region. The first one is Canoa Quebrada, a former traditional fishing village which is now a fashionable destination. Numerous hotels have been constructed there, raising property prices and pushing local people away. Prostitution has grown apace. The “jangadeiros”, traditional fishermen, now organize tours with their boats.

 

Gisi is aware of this reality. For this reason, she communicates primarily about the social activities, obscuring the more troublesome aspects. Once again, the questions remain. What is the real purpose of this school where children learn mostly languages (German and English) from the age of 3? Training for hospitality has been established within the hotel that Gisi purchased. Students are not paid during the first year. In the second year, they receive only € 90 per month, yet they perform all tasks in the hotel, which operates thanks to this cheap labour. Since the beginning of the project, many students have left the course for not accepting such working conditions.

Investment projects are numerous. Gisi has just built, illegally, a kite-surfing school on the beach, in a deliberate act of privatization of a protected area. The consequences are huge for the traditional fishermen, as they can no longer go fishing with nets. Additionally, this area has turned into a dangerous place for swimmers. Another ongoing project is the construction of a mega resort consisting of several bungalows (also on the beach), luxury houses with swimming pools and about one hundred apartments.

Gisi is not an easy person to approach and even less to question. She did not wish to make any statement in this film. She buys all the available land and gradually becomes the only economic trader in Parajuru. She does not speak Portuguese and eventually compels local people to speak German if they wish to work with tourism.

 
Parajuru is now turning into another world. The film shows this transformation. It also reveals how integration techniques are insidiously orchestrated through philanthropy or buzzwords such as sustainable development.

 
Showing different perspectives of Parajuru, the film offers a reflection about fast-moving and inescapable globalization, and about a tourism development that, once the voice of the population is seized, takes the shape of colonisation under a new disguise.