O Amor do Sertão Petrolina
By Mr. 848days - July 26, 2020
Shot over 20 years, “O Amor do Sertão Petrolina” is an epic adventure love story spanning multiple continents and cultural differences between two people from very different parts of the world and backgrounds. A boy from Cambodia. He is a dashing introvert who traveled to the most remote backcountry of Northeastern Brazil seeking adventures and the meaning of life. She is a hometown girl from Brazil. She is an extrovert who is grounded in her small-town roots. A simple girl with a contagious laugh; a Miss Rainha do Milho winner for the annual St. John festival, also known as Festa Junina. A chance encounters one magical winter night at a music festival with regional bands playing Forró in an open dirt plain with upbeat music, low ambient lights, and clear night skies as a backdrop would transform both of their lives.
Movie reviews:
“It was well worth the wait; the most anticipated movie of 2020.” Jane Doe, The Washington Post
"Touching and funny. A much needed escape during this difficult time." John Doe, The Gazette
“Shot over 20 years, beautiful storytelling of love and family.” David Chá, The 848Days Journal
Featured in the movie, iconic hotels now abandoned on the outskirts of the city in Manaus, Brazil. Ariau Amazon Towers Hotel, one of the largest commercial treehouse hotels in the world. Tropical Manaus Hotel is a luxurious ecological resort, located at the entrance of the majestic Amazon forest on the banks of the Rio Negro.
Movie reviews:
“It was well worth the wait; the most anticipated movie of 2020.” Jane Doe, The Washington Post
"Touching and funny. A much needed escape during this difficult time." John Doe, The Gazette
“Shot over 20 years, beautiful storytelling of love and family.” David Chá, The 848Days Journal
Featured in the movie, iconic hotels now abandoned on the outskirts of the city in Manaus, Brazil. Ariau Amazon Towers Hotel, one of the largest commercial treehouse hotels in the world. Tropical Manaus Hotel is a luxurious ecological resort, located at the entrance of the majestic Amazon forest on the banks of the Rio Negro.
The backstory: This project was born out of difficult times during the pandemic. A low budget production film with an uplifting story of love and travel through pictures and videos stitched together over 20 years. It tells the story of an underprivileged Cambodian boy; through hard work and perseverance comes opportunities where his decisions ultimately led him to his destiny. "O Amor do Sertão Petrolina" is loosely translated to "The Love of the Northeast, Petrolina" which is an inland city in the Northeast region of Brazil. This is where he met his wife in June 2000 on an unwilling acceptance of a new job assignment and the outcome of going outside his comfort zone.
Brazil, a country completely outside of my radar. A country I barely heard of but every country has a story. It's April 1999 and I'm looking forward to returning to South Korea after accepting a new engineering position with Globalstar LP, who had started the integration of the initial batch of satellite gateways around the world. I was excited. The appeal was that I had completed a similar project for an Iridium satellite gateway in South Korea in 1998. I resigned from my current position at Motorola and started with Globalstar in May 1999. In an unexpected turn of event, I was asked to lead the Brazilian gateway instead of South Korea. It was a huge letdown, but I unwillingly accepted the new challenge.
Arriving in a small city that is 350 miles west of Sao Paulo, my first experience was anything but memorable. In that, they had no automatic rental cars at the airport. What--? You don't know how to drive a manual car? Yeah, right! My local contact was surprised and gave me a quick lesson on the parking lot. Then I was on my own to drive to the hotel, situated on a hilltop. It was extremely nerve-racking; afraid to get out of first and second gears, but I managed to make it to the hotel somehow. I was persistent in learning and over the next several weeks, I managed to feel comfortable and over time, I learned to love driving a stick shift.
Toward the end of 1999, the project was nearing completion. My assignment was due to transition to Petrolina, an inland city in the Northeast region of Brazil. My customer's site manager from Petrolina came to learn about the gateway. He spoke unfavorably of Petrolina, describing the city as unpleasant and unsafe. Although never been to the region, my Brazilian friends and co-workers echo the same sentiments. Right about the same time, I was offered a lucrative opportunity to return to Motorola. After some thoughts, I decided to go with Motorola and gave my notice to resign. Surprisingly, my employer countered my offer due to the successful launch of the existing gateway and a very happy customer. It was an offer that I cannot refuse.
Upon arriving at Petrolina, just outside the airport is a billboard that read "Your Future is in Petrolina". This was meant for the international presence of its agricultural industry in the region. In early 2000, Petrolina had a population of about 150,000 and I did not experience any safety concerns throughout the city. The city has seen explosive growth in population to more than 350,000 and still remain relatively safe. My love affair with Brazil has only grown. Brazil is a place that will amaze and challenge you at the same time. Brazil is a beautiful country home to diverse people, rich in cultures, and has an incredible array of natural beauty from the waterfalls of Foz do Iguacu to the white sand dunes in the Northeast region to the beautiful Amazon rain-forest, all of which I have had the fortune to visit. It is no secret that Brazil has plenty of social problems including corruption, poverty, violence and crime, lack of education, and high unemployment, to name a few. But Brazilians generally are optimists, they tend to spend less time complaining and more time enjoying life over barbecue and beer with family and friends. They are playful, easy-going, and very much vivacious.
Brazil, a country completely outside of my radar. A country I barely heard of but every country has a story. It's April 1999 and I'm looking forward to returning to South Korea after accepting a new engineering position with Globalstar LP, who had started the integration of the initial batch of satellite gateways around the world. I was excited. The appeal was that I had completed a similar project for an Iridium satellite gateway in South Korea in 1998. I resigned from my current position at Motorola and started with Globalstar in May 1999. In an unexpected turn of event, I was asked to lead the Brazilian gateway instead of South Korea. It was a huge letdown, but I unwillingly accepted the new challenge.
Arriving in a small city that is 350 miles west of Sao Paulo, my first experience was anything but memorable. In that, they had no automatic rental cars at the airport. What--? You don't know how to drive a manual car? Yeah, right! My local contact was surprised and gave me a quick lesson on the parking lot. Then I was on my own to drive to the hotel, situated on a hilltop. It was extremely nerve-racking; afraid to get out of first and second gears, but I managed to make it to the hotel somehow. I was persistent in learning and over the next several weeks, I managed to feel comfortable and over time, I learned to love driving a stick shift.
Toward the end of 1999, the project was nearing completion. My assignment was due to transition to Petrolina, an inland city in the Northeast region of Brazil. My customer's site manager from Petrolina came to learn about the gateway. He spoke unfavorably of Petrolina, describing the city as unpleasant and unsafe. Although never been to the region, my Brazilian friends and co-workers echo the same sentiments. Right about the same time, I was offered a lucrative opportunity to return to Motorola. After some thoughts, I decided to go with Motorola and gave my notice to resign. Surprisingly, my employer countered my offer due to the successful launch of the existing gateway and a very happy customer. It was an offer that I cannot refuse.
Upon arriving at Petrolina, just outside the airport is a billboard that read "Your Future is in Petrolina". This was meant for the international presence of its agricultural industry in the region. In early 2000, Petrolina had a population of about 150,000 and I did not experience any safety concerns throughout the city. The city has seen explosive growth in population to more than 350,000 and still remain relatively safe. My love affair with Brazil has only grown. Brazil is a place that will amaze and challenge you at the same time. Brazil is a beautiful country home to diverse people, rich in cultures, and has an incredible array of natural beauty from the waterfalls of Foz do Iguacu to the white sand dunes in the Northeast region to the beautiful Amazon rain-forest, all of which I have had the fortune to visit. It is no secret that Brazil has plenty of social problems including corruption, poverty, violence and crime, lack of education, and high unemployment, to name a few. But Brazilians generally are optimists, they tend to spend less time complaining and more time enjoying life over barbecue and beer with family and friends. They are playful, easy-going, and very much vivacious.