February 7, 2017 To Whom It May Concern: I’m Cynthia McClintock, the Chair of the Board of the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), and I am writing in the hope that Rodolfo Pereira’s riveting film project, Curfew, will receive the support that it needs to become a feature film widely distributed in the U.S. and Latin America. I have known Rodolfo Pereira for many years; he is deeply committed to social justice and is one of the most thoughtful, creative, and responsible people I have ever met. The film project has already won the first prize in the National Feature Films Contest organized by Peru’s Ministry of Culture and has already been endorsed by the National Association of Journalists of Peru (Peru’s largest press organization). In addition, Mr. Pereira has already contacted two bilingual actors with Peruvian roots to be the film’s leading actors. Curfew is set in Peru in the 1980s and includes breathtaking cinematography of the Andes and its peoples. The themes are dark, but necessary and important. The film shows how Peru was torn apart by the violent confrontations among the Shining Path, the army, and clandestine armed groups. It dramatizes the suffering inflicted by terrorism on the most vulnerable sectors of the population—in this case, Peru’s indigenous peasants, but potentially in any country of the world. The film also highlights the obstacles to independent journalism that are posed during these violent conflicts. The plot is dramatic and will have audiences at the edges of their seats. Two international journalists travel through the mountains and jungles of Peru in search of two Peruvian colleagues who have gone missing while reporting a massacre in a highlands town. The two international journalists find the truth— but when they try to broadcast it, they encounter powerful criminal networks. I am delighted to give this film project my highest endorsement. Soon, I will let the WOLA Executive Committee know about the project and I expect to secure
its endorsement as well. The Board itself does not meet until April but I hope action will be taken there, too. Again, I very much hope that Curfew will receive the support that it needs to bring these tragic but essential truths to the widest possible audience. Sincerely,
Cynthia McClintock Chair, Board of Directors, Washington Office on Latin America Professor, Dept. of Political Science, George Washington University