A Place Called Los Pereyra

A Place Called Los Pereyra

I have just returned from a spectacular evening. It was the night that Spain won the World Cup. College St was bursting at the scenes with honking horns, throngs on the street and Spanish flags everywhere. My grandson and his friends braved the crowds to join me to see this amazing documentary film. The only bad part is that this film has a 4 day stint and will finish this Monday evening. It must find a new home. This documentary has to be seen.

Andres Livov-Macklin has just made this first documentary. I predict a great career for this young filmmaker.

Los Pereyra is a poor region in Argentina. The countryside is beautiful but the land is parched. The families live in small huts and have very little in material things. There is no electricity or telephones. I could smell the dust on the road. I felt for this family that lived in a one room shack. At the same time there was so much love. The grandmother combed the children’s’ hair. The grandfather told stories to the children.

Many of the children in this area had long distances to go to get to school. I was delighted that many had bicycles. Four students were seen on the dusty road in an old cart led by 2 horses. The wheels looked as if they were going to fall off.

I was most interested in the school. The teachers were caring and encouraging. The school only had 4 rooms. The rooms were tiny and outfitted with poor wooden benches and nothing else.

The school is preparing for a visit of the godmothers. Who are the godmothers? They are students from a middle class neighborhood in Buenos Aires. They came annually and brought many material things. They provided food and clothing. They were so kind to the children and nurtured them and loved them. It was so special to see these girls from a school in Buenos Aires sleeping in a tent in this area and being so kind to the children of Los Pereyra. Several medical students near graduation were part of the visiting team.

There was no doubt that these visiting godmothers (as they were called) made such a difference in the lives of the people in Los Pereyra. The medical students met with the parents and tried to talk about birth control and other medical necessities.

The film director was in attendance and answered many questions after the film. I was so upset to hear that the project of the visiting godmothers concluded in 2008. It pains me to think what is happening in the village of Los Pereyra.

The cinematography was magnificent. Long slow shots of the children’s’ faces were marvelous. I have never seen such big brown eyes. You could feel the emotion of the children right through the screen. I adored the shots of the children slowly riding their bicycles up the dirt road on the way to school. The music greatly enhanced the film.

This is an excellent documentary and deserves to have a full screening for an extended time. What a treat!