La ofensiva “Hasta el tope” lanzada por la guerrilla en 11 de noviembre de 1989 me sorprendió en mi natal Mejicanos, en la colonia España, en casa de mi prima Maribel, esposa del asesinado foroperiodista Roberto Navas hacía unos ocho meses. En ese tiempo ya trabajaba para la Agencia Francesa de Prensa (AFP, Agence...
UN PIRATA MODERNO DE LA SUPERVIVENCIA
Edwin Ayala (47) conduce un “taxi pirata” desde hace más de 20 años en San Salvador aunque en sus inicios lo hacía en uno que cumplía con los requisitos de ley. Aprendió la “taxiada” en la cooperativa de taxis ACOTER, en 1986, en la terminal de Oriente en San Salvador. Hoy lo hace en un...
PARA LLEVAR Y PARA COMER AQUÍ
La pupusería Zoila, ubicada en Olocuilta, es famosa entre sus clientes. Unos las piden para comer dentro del local, otros las pueden saborear en restaurantes del aeropuerto Internacional y los pedidos especiales para compatriotas en Estados Unidos. Según su propietaria, Zoila Escobar de Castro, de 62 años, la idea del negocio nació un poco después...
EL RETRATO DE MI MEJOR AMIGO
Tomar fotos es tan fácil que “hasta un niño lo puede hacer”, esa frase es un insulto para la inteligencia de los menores que sólo necesitan un poco de orientación para superar cualquier reto en lo que a aprendizaje se refiere, por eso les prestamos una cámara fotográfica digital y les pedimos que hicieran un...
The Story of Ferguson through the Eyes of the People Who Lived it
By the time we wrapped our last shooting day, we had collected over 300 hours of footage. Lungs shouted for justice and moments later filled with teargas. A father baked cookies during a moment of peace. A police chief and a mayor cited lack of data. Our creative team quickly realized we had several possible...
“A Huge Historical Project”: Editor Kim Miille on Tell Them We Are Rising
MacArthur Fellow Stanley Nelson has devoted his career to documentary explorations of the African American experience. The 65-year-old director/producer has made films on Marcus Garvey, the Freedom Riders and the Black Panthers. His most recent film is Tell Them We Are Rising: The Story of Black Colleges and Universities, which premiered this week at the...
“The Challenge Is Balancing Tone”: Director Mark Pellington
The communication challenge in executing The Last Word was thematic. With issues of aging or mortality, the challenge is balancing tone. That is achieved by communicating to everyone (cast, crew and, in turn, the audience) the specific tone. We tried keeping the story human and offbeat, making it emotionally inclusive, and earning the emotional payoff...
“Communication Is Where a Film Lives and Dies”: Director Zoe Lister-Jones
Communication is where a film lives and dies. It is essential for efficacy, for performance, and ultimately for translating a director’s vision to the screen. To me communication is less about the art of talking than it is about the art of listening. I hired an all-female crew on Band Aid, which was deliberate on...
Profound Communication Only Happens When There Is Persistence
I often ask myself, how does each of us weave our own responsibilities into the pattern of history? How can I tell stories about human rights and the quest for justice yet engage people who are uninterested or apathetic? And the answer has always brought me back to this idea of the persistence of vision....
“We Are Living through a Divisive Time”: Director Barbara Kopple
Obviously we are living through a very divisive time, and transgender issues are among the most controversial of what people call “the culture wars.” That was something I was aware of while making this movie, and its something we are aware of as we release it. That said, every film I make involves going as...
