Director's text »
I was born in El Salvador, my father is Salvadorean and he and all his family lived through the civil war (1979-1992), I
did not. One year before the war broke out, I moved to Mexico with my mother, I was four years old. My
mother is Mexican and I grew up in Mexico.
I always travelled back to El Salvador. A few years ago I visited my paternal grandmother in San Salvador and she took me to the town were she was born, Cinquera. It took us three hours to get there on dirt roads. That same evening we arrrived I went out for a walk, alone. Suddenly an eldery woman hugged me, “Rina!” she shouted “you came back! You haven’t changed a bit!”. I didn’t know how to react, I told her it was a mistake, that I wasn’t Rina. The woman didn’t believe me. I’m not Rina, but I could have been.
Later, I stepped into the small town church, the walls were filled with bullet holes, there were only a few wooden benches, a military helicopter tail hung on a wall. There were very few religious images on the walls but there were rows of portraits of young people that died in the war.
The images and sensations of this space touched me deeply. I felt a need to know everything that happened here. These first moments in my grandmother’s town motivated me to make this film.
I always travelled back to El Salvador. A few years ago I visited my paternal grandmother in San Salvador and she took me to the town were she was born, Cinquera. It took us three hours to get there on dirt roads. That same evening we arrrived I went out for a walk, alone. Suddenly an eldery woman hugged me, “Rina!” she shouted “you came back! You haven’t changed a bit!”. I didn’t know how to react, I told her it was a mistake, that I wasn’t Rina. The woman didn’t believe me. I’m not Rina, but I could have been.
Later, I stepped into the small town church, the walls were filled with bullet holes, there were only a few wooden benches, a military helicopter tail hung on a wall. There were very few religious images on the walls but there were rows of portraits of young people that died in the war.
The images and sensations of this space touched me deeply. I felt a need to know everything that happened here. These first moments in my grandmother’s town motivated me to make this film.
How the story is told »
I decided not to videotape the interviews, I only
taped audio, I wanted to explore a different way of sharing this story.
The conversations with the people became deeper, more intimate and
reflexive, this was the tone I wanted for this film.
I knew just how I wanted to tell the story, I wanted the imagen and the sound to develop independently and bring them together in a tirad discourse. It was very exciting to edit the film, to discover and search for the meaning in the images, as the dialogue was knitted through them.
I knew just how I wanted to tell the story, I wanted the imagen and the sound to develop independently and bring them together in a tirad discourse. It was very exciting to edit the film, to discover and search for the meaning in the images, as the dialogue was knitted through them.
Production notes »
One of the challenges of this film was to register the jungle that
surrounds this town. We were a small crew of seven persons that travelled
from Mexico to Cinquera. When we went up the mountain, Nico, the producer
contacted the townspeople to help us carry water, food and all the production
equipment. We walked for hours and hours everyday. Sometimes we
got up at 3 amin order to reach a hill to shoot the daybreak. We
had an incredible guide who had been in the guerrilla, René. One day we
got lost in the darkness in midst of the mountains, we got stuck, René was
desperate trying to clear the way with his machete, he looked up at the stars
and spoke to himself trying to lead us to the shooting site. We didn’t make
reach the point on time and the sun rose before we began the shoot.
The production lasted nearly 9 weeks under a humidity of 80% and hot weather. Spending time in the town was important, we had to build a relationship with the people in order to gain their trust.
The whole crew enjoyed the experience and we all learned from these townspeople that let us enter their lives with an open heart.
This is my first feature project and the first Documentary Opera Prima film produced by the CCC. I planned this documentary about five years ago. I tried to get financing, I am not very good at this, finding support for documentary projects is even harder. I had abandoned the Project and then the CCC opened a contest for it’s graduates. I sent in my project, I made a call to the town to find out if my contacts around and let them know I would try to make the film. My project was selected.
I am truly fortunate to have the best producers for this project, I was allowed complete creative freedom. I was amble to make the movie I had planned to. The school accept the long shooting period I requested.
I would like people to feel identified with the film; to provoke a reflexion on the traces that violence leaves on humans. I wasn’t a guerrilla and I did not flee from an army that killed my family and destroyed my town. This is story told from my ignorance of what it means to live a war.
I believe the film is a miror were one can be reflected, in the pain, love and madness of the character. We know who they are and what they have lost, dignified in their pain, proud of were they are, knowing that laughter helps heal the soul.
The production lasted nearly 9 weeks under a humidity of 80% and hot weather. Spending time in the town was important, we had to build a relationship with the people in order to gain their trust.
The whole crew enjoyed the experience and we all learned from these townspeople that let us enter their lives with an open heart.
This is my first feature project and the first Documentary Opera Prima film produced by the CCC. I planned this documentary about five years ago. I tried to get financing, I am not very good at this, finding support for documentary projects is even harder. I had abandoned the Project and then the CCC opened a contest for it’s graduates. I sent in my project, I made a call to the town to find out if my contacts around and let them know I would try to make the film. My project was selected.
I am truly fortunate to have the best producers for this project, I was allowed complete creative freedom. I was amble to make the movie I had planned to. The school accept the long shooting period I requested.
I would like people to feel identified with the film; to provoke a reflexion on the traces that violence leaves on humans. I wasn’t a guerrilla and I did not flee from an army that killed my family and destroyed my town. This is story told from my ignorance of what it means to live a war.
I believe the film is a miror were one can be reflected, in the pain, love and madness of the character. We know who they are and what they have lost, dignified in their pain, proud of were they are, knowing that laughter helps heal the soul.
Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica, A.C. | Calzada de Tlalpan 1670, Col. Country Club, Del. Coyoacán, México, D.F. C.P. 04220
Tel. +52 (55) 4155 0090 ext. 1813 | divulgacion@elccc.com.mx | http://www.elccc.com.mx | www.facebook.com/ellugarmaspequeno | www.twitter.com/tiniest_place
Tel. +52 (55) 4155 0090 ext. 1813 | divulgacion@elccc.com.mx | http://www.elccc.com.mx | www.facebook.com/ellugarmaspequeno | www.twitter.com/tiniest_place
