I'm Salvadoran, given my father's side of the family, and with that he experienced a bit of the Salvadoran Civil War in the 80s. You could say that, plus the film about that same war, called "Voces Inocentes", inspired me to make my own film about how a young woman named Luz "Lucita" Hernandez encounters an American soldier and is treated a life-or-death journey out of the dangerous country to the US.
The story accompanies Lucita Hernandez, a troubled young Salvadoran woman who lost both her parents to the merciless Salvadoran government soldiers, and is raised by her Tía (aunt). She is close friends with her cousin, Carmen Hernandez, who develops an addiction to smoking in her adult life.
Robert "Robby" Jenkins is an American young man who was raised by a wealthy family, but given their high standards, career-wise, Robby finds that if he can't become an artist, he might as well get himself drafted to the army with a best friend, willing to see what's outside the barrier of the United States. After getting drafted to El Salvador, Robby sees how hard the country lives and learns about the issues between El Salvador and the US.
He meets Lucita accidentally while scouting around and at first sight, Lucita is afraid of him. Salvadorans then considered Americans being the enemy helping the government. But when she gains trust in him to help her out of her home and somewhere she could feel safe, she takes the risk, only knowing that the least she could do is try.
This story is inspired by my father's journey, and it's probably my most detailed story out of all my others.
No comments:
Post a Comment