Pirates taking Peru by storm

By Hannah Hennessy
BBC News, Lima

Pirates and Peru are the focus of Latin America's first animated film

Latin America's first 3D animated feature-length film has proved a surprise success in its first week at the box office.

Piratas en el Callao - Pirates in Callao - was seen by more than 100,000 people in its first week in Peru, overtaking other animated films, and leading its producer to say it could rival the recent success of Shrek 2.

The film, which took 18 months to make, has already grossed more than the $500,000 (£261,000) it took to produce.

"The response has been great. The kids laugh and they have been dancing in the cinemas," says the film's 32-year-old director Eduardo Schuldt, who first became involved in animation at the age of 12.

Peruvian gold

In April, Pirates in Callao will be released in several other countries across South and Central America and later this year it will be translated into Mandarin and be shown in Chinese cinemas.

The film tells the story of nine-year-old Alberto, who goes back in time during a school trip to a fortress in the Peruvian port of Callao.

This 20th-Century boy finds himself taking on Dutch pirates who are looting Spanish galleons full of Peruvian gold.

Alberto, the hero of the film, travels back in time

The successful book on which the film is based is often used to teach Peruvian children about their country's history. It takes place in the 17th Century, when Peru was a key trading centre on the Pacific coast.

The events unfold a century after Spanish conquistadors crushed the Inca empire, seizing their gold and forcing many indigenous Peruvians into slavery.

Alberto makes friends with another boy from the 19th Century and the two help the Indians escape from the pirates.

The film's hero falls in love with an indigenous girl called Urpi, which means "dove" in the language of the Incas, and in true Hollywood style, he is faced with some tough decisions.

Anti-slavery

"Initially, he does not know if he should help the Dutch or the Spanish, because of the nasty way the Spanish treated the indigenous people. So he has this conflict to resolve," says Schuldt.

"The message is really clear: that slavery is not good. But the main message is that we should learn from history, not try and change it," he added.

Schuldt says the film-makers are in talks with distributors about the possibility of it opening in the United States, but admits that first he wants to win over the people of Latin America.

The fort where the drama unfolds

He says that as well as being technologically advanced, the film has been a success so far because it combines a great story with music by an award-winning Peruvian band and the voices of well-known national actors.

"My hopes are big because it's a good story, it's the first 3D animation film in Latin America, which is going to help us a bit.

"We are going to distribute the film in 16 countries and we are really happy about that. My hopes are that everyone is going to watch it."

Peru is not often associated with international film success, even though other Latin American countries like Mexico, Brazil and Argentina have produced hit films like The Motorcycle Diaries and City of God.

Although Pirates in Callao is modest in comparison, it shows how technologically advanced Peruvian animation has become.

But Schuldt is not resting on his laurels. He and the team behind Pirates in Callao have just started work on what he calls "a much more advanced animation film", about the adventures of a dragon on Lake Titicaca, the world's highest navigable lake, which straddles Peru and Bolivia and the legendary birthplace of the first Inca leader.