A Fish Out of Water

Salvador

April 1986 •English

In 1980, an American journalist covering the Salvadoran Civil War becomes entangled with both the leftist guerrilla groups and the right-wing military dictatorship while trying to rescue his girlfriend and her children.

Innocent Voices

January 2005 •Spanish

A young boy, attempting to have a normal childhood in 1980s El Salvador, is caught up in a dramatic fight for his life when he desperately tries to avoid the war that is raging all around him.

Today

December 2020 •Spanish

In the capital of El Salvador, the drivers of a bus, a taxi, a minibus and a private car confront the ravages of 12 years of civil war that continue to torment the country.

The Crow's Nest

October 2014 •Spanish

The life of a simple piñata salesman named Don Cleo is turned upside down when he falls victim to an extortionist he can’t possibly afford to pay. The harder he tries to raise the funds, the deeper into trouble he gets. If Don Cleo hopes to survive, he’ll have to face his fears and stand up to his tormentors.

Buscadores

February 2021 •Spanish

Two friends decide to spend the last vacation together, before parting their ways forever in a journey they never will forget.

The Last Thing He Wanted

February 2020 •English

At the turning point of the Iran-Contra affair, Elena McMahon, a fearless investigative journalist covering the 1984 US presidential campaign, puts herself in danger when she abandons her assigned task in order to fulfill the last wish of her ailing father, a mysterious man whose past activities she barely knows.

Fireflies at El Mozote

Invalid date •English

During the 1980s civil war in El Salvador, a rebel group of leftist guerrillas fight to expose its government's death squads via an underground radio network and hope to end their government's reign of terror with the help of an American journalist.

Saturday Fuego Diablo

October 2022 •Spanish

In 1981 Montreal, four Salvadoran siblings, new to Canada, seek distance from the uprisings occurring in their home country by hitting a night club, but it does not go as planned.

The Houses Are Full of Smoke

September 1987 •English

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 Crazy Life

September 2008 •Spanish

Reflects a depressing and hopeless reality by following some of the members of "la dieciocho", the so-called 18th Street gang in a poor San Salvador neighborhood.

Seeing El Salvador

March 1945 •English

This Traveltalk series short starts in San Salvador, El Salvador's capital, emphasizing the Spanish architectural heritage. We then go to the Izalco Volcano, which was created in 1770 by an eruption of the Santa Ana Volcano. The focus then shifts to the country's agriculture. The two main products are coffee and henequen, a plant with tough, fibrous leaves used to make rope, baskets, and other products.

Topiltzin

January 1975 •Spanish

An experimental short film about a day in the life of a barefoot boy who sells newspapers in San Salvador.

The Tiger and the Deer

July 2013 •Spanish

In El Salvador, Chelino tells about the indigenous massacre of 1932, of which he survived, while he teaches the melodies of traditional Salvadoran dances.

Maria's Story

September 1990 •English

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

January 2010 •English

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.

One, the Story of a Goal

March 2010 •Spanish

In the early 1980s, at the beginning of what would become a 12-year-long civil war, El Salvador's talented football team was one national institution upon which both the left and the right could agree. When the team pulled off a stunning 1-0 upset against Mexico and qualified to compete in the 1982 World Cup, it was a high point for the tiny country's national pride. Unfortunately, the team's Cinderella story devolved into a nightmarish farce.

Salvador : vivre sous Bukele

February 2023 •French

Cuerpos juzgados

March 2022 •Spanish

Little Birds

June 2023 •Spanish

Through dances and games, migrant boys and girls who live in a shelter in Reynosa, on the US-Mexico border, shared their dreams and stories of hope with us.

Be A Patriot, Kill A Priest

January 2001 •English

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.