# Extirpator of Idolatries

Extirpator of Idolatries (Spanish: Extirpador de idolatrías) is a 2014 Peruvian thriller drama film written and directed by Manuel Siles, completed in 2014 and released commercially in Peru in 2016.

## Plot

The police detective Waldo, of circumspect disposition and temper, investigates several crimes associated with indigenous rituals that occur in some regions of the Peruvian Andes. There a boy and a girl who are about to enter puberty begin to interact with certain mythical beings, a supernatural belief very common in many Andean villages. A sinister character (the “Extirpator of Idolatries”), pretending to be on a mission of faith, but imbued with religious dogmatism and intolerance, interrupts this peaceful scene as he casts an ominous shadow over these ancient Peruvian beliefs. Although Waldo’s boss considers him inferior and distrusts his methods, the policeman continues his efforts to capture the “Extirpator of Idolatries”. At the same time, Waldo will resolve his own inner conflict which has troubled him all his life.

## Cast

* Oswaldo Salas as police detective Waldo Mamani / Mythical creature
* Magaly Solier as mother of the boy
* Augusto Casafranca as extirpator of idolatries / Mythical creature
* Paulina Bazán as the girl
* Diego Yupanqui as the boy
* Renato Gianoli as chief police
* Oscar Ludeña as police deputy / Mythical creature
* Fiorella Flores as TV journalist
* Amiel Cayo as shaman / Mythical creature
* Julián Vargas as innkeeper
* Firelei Barreda as widow
* Ana Arce as mother of the girl / Mythical creature
* Diana Castro as victim

## Reception
### Critical response

Extirpador of idolatries had a positive reception from audiences and critics at international film festivals, winning thirty two awards, and obtaining nine nominations. Peruvian critics praised the film after its premiere in Lima, film critic Sebastián Pimentel of the newspaper El Comercio calls it "a new title among the best of Peruvian cinema in recent years." He praises the work of the leading actor ("great Oswaldo Salas") and the director ("Siles has assimilated well a modern film tradition that goes beyond Europe - come to mind 'Antonio das Mortes' of the Brazilian Glauber Rocha, even the most contemporary films by Claudia Llosa, through the cinema of the Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul - As in the cases cited, far from verbalizing facts, Siles explores affections, beliefs, imaginaries, the latter taking the form of dreams or hallucinations that challenge the realism of what we see "). He considers it one of the 20 best commercial premieres in Peru in 2016, being one of only three Peruvian films included in the list. In the newspaper La República, the film critic Federico de Cárdenas qualifies it with 4 stars out of 5, describing it as "valuable opera prima", praises photography ("remarkable photography and camera of Marco Antonio Alvarado") and Magaly Solier's performance. Film critic Ricardo Bedoya considers it "one of the most suggestive Peruvian films of recent times".

## Awards

| Year | Recipient | Award | Category | Result |
| 2014 | Manuel Siles | Encuentro Mundial de Cine, Denver, USA | Best Director | Won |
| 2014 | Oswaldo Salas | Encuentro Mundial de Cine, Denver, USA | Best Actor | Won |
| 2014 | Extirpator of Idolatries | Encuentro Mundial de Cine, Denver, USA | Best Feature Film | Nominated |
| 2014 | Manuel Siles | Monteria International Film Festival, Colombia | Best Screenplay | Won |
| 2014 | Extirpator of Idolatries | Lima Independiente International Film Festival, Peru | Audience Award | Won |
| 2014 | Extirpator of Idolatries | London Latin American Film Festival, UK | Audience Award | Nominated |
| 2014 | Oswaldo Salas | CinemAvvenire Film Festival, Rome, Italy | Best Actor | Won |
| 2015 | Extirpator of Idolatries | Pasto International Film Festival, Colombia | Best Feature Film | Won |
| 2015 | Extirpator of Idolatries | National Project Competition International Film Promotion, Ministry of Culture of Peru | | Won |
| 2016 | Extirpator of Idolatries | Latino Awards, Marbella, Spain | Best Peruvian Feature Film | Won |
| 2016 | Manuel Siles | Latino Awards, Marbella, Spain | Best Director in Peruvian Film | Won |
| 2016 | Manuel Siles | Latino Awards, Marbella, Spain | Best Screenplay in Peruvian Film | Won |
| 2016 | Diego Eslava | Latino Awards, Marbella, Spain | Best Original Peruvian Music | Won |
| 2016 | Extirpator of Idolatries | Latino Awards, Marbella, Spain | Best Peruvian Social Feature Film | Won |
| 2016 | Extirpator of Idolatries | Luces Awards, Lima, Peru | Best Feature Film | Nominated |
| 2016 | Oswaldo Salas | Luces Awards, Lima, Peru | Best Actor | Nominated |
| 2016 | Magaly Solier | Luces Awards, Lima, Peru | Best Actress | Nominated |
| 2016 | Extirpator of Idolatries | El Comercio newspaper, Peru | The Best 20 Feature Films Released in Peru in 2016 | Won |
| 2016 | Extirpator of Idolatries | La República newspaper, Peru | Best Feature Films of 2016 in Peru | Won |
| 2017 | Extirpator of Idolatries | 12 Months Film Festival, Cluj-Napoca, Romania | Best Feature Film of the Month (3rd Place) | Finalist |
| 2017 | Extirpator of Idolatries | Los Angeles San Rafael Film Festival, Los Angeles de San Rafael, Segovia, Spain | Best Feature Film | Finalist |
| 2017 | Extirpator of Idolatries | Los Angeles Cinefest, Los Angeles, California, USA | Best Feature Film | Semifinalist |
| 2017 | Extirpator of Idolatries | FROSTBITE International Film Festival, Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA | Best Feature Film | Won |
| 2017 | Extirpator of Idolatries | Latino Film Market, New York City, New York, USA | Best International Latino Feature Film | Won |
| 2018 | Extirpator of Idolatries | Mosaic Film Festival, Clarkston, Georgia, USA | Best Feature Fiction | Won |
| 2018 | Extirpator of Idolatries | AltFF Alternative Film Festival, Toronto, Ontario, Canada | Best Drama, Feature Category | Nominated |
| 2020 | Manuel Siles | Prague International Monthly Film Festival (PIMFF), Czech Republic | Best Original Screenplay | Won |
| 2020 | Manuel Siles | Prague International Monthly Film Festival (PIMFF), Czech Republic | Best First-Time Director (Feature) (2nd Place) | Won |
| 2020 | Extirpator of Idolatries | Prague International Monthly Film Festival (PIMFF), Czech Republic | Best Feature Film (3rd Place) | Won |
| 2020 | Oswaldo Salas | Prague International Monthly Film Festival (PIMFF), Czech Republic | Best Actor Feature Film | Finalist |
| 2020 | Marco Alvarado | Prague International Monthly Film Festival (PIMFF), Czech Republic | Best Cinematography | Finalist |
| 2020 | Extirpator of Idolatries | Prague International Monthly Film Festival (PIMFF), Czech Republic | Best Trailer | Finalist |
| 2020 | Extirpator of Idolatries | Madras Independent Film Festival, Chennai, India | Honorable Mention | Won |
| 2020 | Extirpator of Idolatries | Eurasia International Monthly Film Festival, Moscow, Russia | Best Feature Film | Semifinalist |
| 2020 | Extirpator of Idolatries | Bridge Fest, Vancouver, Canada | Best Overall Monthly Winner (Feature Film) | Won |
| 2020 | Extirpator of Idolatries | New Cinema – Lisbon Monthly Film Festival, Portugal | Honorable Mention | Won |
| 2020 | Extirpator of Idolatries | Lonely Wolf: London International Film Festival, UK | Best Film – Action/Sci-Fi/Fantasy | Nominated |
| 2020 | Extirpator of Idolatries | Lonely Wolf: London International Film Festival, UK | Best Film – Horror | Nominated |
| 2020 | Renato Gianoli | Lonely Wolf: London International Film Festival, UK | Best Supporting Actor Feature Film | Nominated |
| 2020 | Oswaldo Salas | Košice International Monthly Film Festival, Slovakia | Best Actor Feature Film | Won |
| 2020 | Extirpator of Idolatries | Košice International Monthly Film Festival, Slovakia | Best Feature Film | Finalist |

## Trivia

* Shot with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II camera
* For the filming of the children's scene with the mythical beings, a large number of actors and extras were needed. As a matter of budget, the actors of the film, Oswaldo Salas, Augusto Casafranca, Oscar Ludeña, Amiel Cayo and Ana Arce supported the filming personifying a group of mythical beings. The actress Katerina D'Onofrio also participated as a cameo role. Karina Chocos, mother in the real life of Paulina Bazán, also acted as a mythical being.