THEY GROW their own food and add to their income by making sarongs and brightly-coloured scarves - odd, perhaps in a nudist colony, but ideal for visitors from the city to take home as souvenirs. There is a tourist lodge, a restaurant, where even the waiters are naked, and cabins rented to people who stay for longer periods.
Petter Hegre decided to investigate after seeing a photograph of 19 year old Carina in a magazine. He took two Sony DV cams and a small team into the jungle and the result was his documentary `Carina - Ecstasy of Existence´, a 30-minute film made by Hegre´s Fly on the Wall Productions and first shown on the TV channel RTL, Germany.
Carina, like her compatriots, can be seen in her daily activities, working in the fields, cooking, sleeping in a hammock, driving her red VW beetle through the village, and practicing yoga. But like everyone in this Garden of Eden, Carina is always naked, and having shed this outer layer, seems liberated in other ways, too. Nudity in Porto Allegre seems to equate to happiness and has created a real sense of community.
"My life here is so pure, relaxed, natural," says Carina. "No pollution, no stress or nervous people...just the sounds of nature and time to be myself. City life treats you like a number. Here, I feel inside the universe."
Filming naked did appear somewhat awkward for the film crew, but remembering "When in Rome," donned sarongs as they tracked their cameras through the jungle. Hegre made the documentary with cameraman Kim H. Bjorheim, soundwoman Kjersti Veel Svendsen and with Luba taking stills.
For all inquiries regarding TV licensing or ordering this film, please contact Geir Mæland at Hollywood Film AS: geir@hollywood-film.com
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