Social & External
The people behind it
It is El Salvador, 1989, three years before the end of a brutal civil war that took 75,000 lives. Maria Serrano, wife, mother, and guerrilla leader is on the front lines of the battle for her people and her country. With unprecedented access to FMLN guerrilla camps, the filmmakers dramatically chronicle Maria's daily life in the war.
Return to El Salvador explores the reconstruction of El Salvador, post-civil war. The film revisits the struggles of the nation and examines what drives over 700 Salvadorans to flee their homeland each day, often risking their lives to illegally enter countries in search of a better life for their families. The film also profiles a number of Salvadorans effected by the civil war. One couple, who fled death threats in the 1980s, finds asylum and a political platform in the United States. The film also follows a different couple who, after escaping the war, returned to El Salvador to work with churches and poor communities.
Fleeing the 1980 Civil War in El Salvador, Dora Rodriguez, among a group of twenty-five asylum seekers, were abandoned by their guide and left to fend for themselves in the relentless Sonoran desert of Arizona.
Filmed on the war fronts of Chalatenango and Guazapa, the film is based on the construction of Local Popular Powers (PPL) in areas under guerrilla control.
A documentary about the rival gangs Mara 18 and Mara Salvatrucha, originating in Los Angeles but terrorizing El Salvador. It explores their origins as possible founding myths of organized crime in a globalized world.
Filmed by Guillermo Escalón in July 1981, it shows daily life in territories under guerrilla control in the Francisco Sánchez Northeastern Front, Department of Morazán,
This documentary juxtaposes scenes of El Salvador's opposition factions, including U.S. government advisors and government troops, and guerrillas and their sympathizers.
Join affable presenter Nigel Marven as he explores El Salvador, the volatile land of volcanoes with a colorful culture and natural history. Follow along as he climbs an active volcano near the capital San Salvador, comes face-to-face with a crocodile, cuddles a caecilian, fights fire with fire, dives deep into a volcanic lake, and discovers the Pompeii of Central America.
Filmed during the Salvadoran civil war, La luz que te decía documents the struggles of the country’s labor and trade union movement amid escalating political violence. Through strike footage, congress meetings, marches, and first-person testimonies, the film portrays a society marked by state repression, workers’ mobilization, and efforts to build national and international solidarity. The documentary pays particular attention to the strike of the National Water Authority workers (ANDA), featuring members of the SETA union who describe the causes of the protest, the repression they faced, and the survival strategies adopted during the conflict. Testimonies from other unions, grassroots organizations, and international labor groups broaden the film’s perspective beyond a single labor dispute.
Years after the Salvadoran military destroyed the village of Cinquera in that country’s civil war, survivors have returned to rebuild their community. Soulful, beautifully rendered, this amazing debut is an evocative testament to place, memory and the power of life to rebound from tragedy.
Produced by the Radio Venceremos System, chronicles the first decade of the guerrilla broadcaster that became a crucial communication tool for the FMLN during El Salvador’s civil war. Through archival footage, radio transmissions, testimonies, and scenes of daily life in liberated zones, the film traces the station’s military, political, and cultural role, from reporting on combat operations and peasant struggles to fostering literacy, music, and international solidarity. The documentary portrays Radio Venceremos not only as a strategic instrument of war, but as a symbol of resistance, collective organization, and revolutionary memory.
A production by Radio Venceremos in 1992. The documentary's central objective is to showcase Radio Venceremos' new role after the end of the armed conflict, portraying it as a radio station that would continue serving the needs of the Salvadoran people. The documentary includes some of Radio Venceremos' broadcasts during the Salvadoran peace process.
It documents the civil war in El Salvador, in its first 8 years, as well as the political movements, and the human rights violations that occurred.
This documentary examines the formation of labor unions in El Salvador and the systematic violations of workers’ rights that characterized the country during the 1980s. Through testimonies and on-the-ground footage, it exposes the climate of employer authoritarianism and repression faced by workers, situating these conflicts within a broader history of social unrest that dates back to the 1930s and re-emerged with intensity in the 1980s. The film also depicts how the guerrilla movement carried out campaigns of political and labor awareness among peasants and workers, encouraging collective organization and the defense of labor rights. Ultimately, the documentary reveals the “two faces” of El Salvador: on one side, state power embodied by the army and the police; on the other, the opposition represented by guerrilla forces and grassroots popular organizations.
A meditation on the intersection of Afro-Caribbean and Indigenous American existence.
Using rare footage from his own collection as well as interviews and photographs, this documentary profiles Óscar Romero, the Salvadoran priest whose championing of the poor and downtrodden against a corrupt government made him a global hero.
A powerful three-part documentary studying the US involvement in Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua. The differing factions - Sandinista leaders, Guatemalan campesinos, CIA operatives, Contras and US government apologists - are interviewed and, in the absence of a controlling narration, the audience is encouraged to draw its own conclusions.
The war in El Salvador was the most cruel and bloody Latin America has ever seen. During that time of turmoil Latin American bishops created the famous preferential option for the poor, demanding justice, food and education in the name of the gospel. Using interviews and old footage, the film follows the civil war and the role of the Church in it. In 1977, after the murder of Father Rutilio Grande, the Archbishop Oscar Romero took a strong anti government position, broadcasting sermons over Radio Luz demanding that the government stop the repression. He could not understand why he was thought to be a follower of Karl Marx, when he knew "he followed only Jesus Christ." An inspiring film about people of faith who stood up against injustice.
In an intimate and joyful story of love in the face of loss, celebrated poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley find strength—and unexpected hilarity—in what might be their final year together.
A string of threatening emails escalates into a revenge plot involving a newly married US marshal and his ex-girlfriend.
The film is based on interviews with 2,000 women from 50 countries, and covers the status of women all over the world. The topics covered include forced marriages, sexual assault, female genital mutilation, acid attacks, motherhood, sexuality, menstruation, education and the professional success of women.
A documentary on the expletive's origin, why it offends some people so deeply, and what can be gained from its use.
Alexander McQueen's rags-to-riches story is a modern-day fairy tale, laced with the gothic. Mirroring the savage beauty, boldness and vivacity of his design, this documentary is an intimate revelation of McQueen's own world, both tortured and inspired, which celebrates a radical and mesmerizing genius of profound influence.
Photographer Estevan Oriol and artist Mister Cartoon turned their Chicano roots into gritty art, impacting street culture, hip hop and beyond.
The life and career of one of comedy's most inimitable modern voices, Mr. Gilbert Gottfried.
While in San Francisco for the promotion of her last film in October 1967, Agnès Varda, tipped by her friend Tom Luddy, gets to know a relative she had never heard of before, Jean Varda, nicknamed "Yanco". This hitherto unknown uncle lives on a boat in Sausalito, is a painter, has adopted a hippie lifestyle and loves life. The meeting is a very happy one.
Ranjit, a farmer in India, takes on the fight of his life when he demands justice for his 13-year-old daughter, the victim of a brutal gang rape. His decision to support his daughter is virtually unheard of, and his journey unprecedented.
This raucous journey into the heart of democracy captures an unusual rite of passage: 1,100 teenage boys from across Texas coming together to build a representative government from the ground up.
Vulgar, taunting texts blow up the phones of a teen and her boyfriend. Who's sending them — and why? This twisty documentary reveals the shocking answer.
A documentary examining the decade of the 1970s as a turning point in American cinema. Some of today's best filmmakers interview the influential directors of that time.
As England reach the final of the Euros at last, 6,000 ticketless football fans storm Wembley stadium, leaving destruction in their wake.
A woman narrates the thoughts of a world traveler, meditations on time and memory expressed in words and images from places as far-flung as Japan, Guinea-Bissau, Iceland, and San Francisco.
Artists in LA discover the work of forgotten Polish sculptor Stanislav Szukalski, a mad genius whose true story unfolds chapter by astounding chapter.
After years in the limelight, Selena Gomez achieves unimaginable stardom. But just as she reaches a new peak, an unexpected turn pulls her into darkness. This uniquely raw and intimate documentary spans her six-year journey into a new light.
Alex Gibney explores the phenomenon of Stuxnet, a self-replicating computer virus discovered in 2010 by international IT experts. Evidently commissioned by the US and Israeli governments, this malware was designed to specifically sabotage Iran’s nuclear programme. However, the complex computer worm ended up not only infecting its intended target but also spreading uncontrollably.
Investigators reveal how Boeing’s alleged priority of profit over safety could have contributed to two catastrophic crashes within months of each other.
A celebration of the legendary band that revolutionized pop music, and the iconic, harmonious sound they created that personified the California dream, captivating fans for generations and generations to come.
Stars of "The Walking Dead," Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira, walk down memory lane and visit iconic locations where pivotal moments between their characters, Rick and Michonne, were filmed.
