We here in Philadelphia are shocked and saddened to learn about the murder of French documentary filmmaker Christian Poveda. Poveda was found dead in his car in the rural area of Tonactepeque, about 10 miles outside of San Salvador. According to police, he was driving back from filming in the crowded ghetto area of La Campanera when he was ambushed and shot in the head.
Poveda's recent film, La Vida Loca, follows the violent Mara 18 gang, several members of which were killed or jailed during filming, according to an article in the Times Online. The Times reports:
"The film is critical of the heavy police crackdown on gang members, which Poveda felt failed to take account of the hopeless poverty and personal tragedy that drive young Salvadorans to turn to crime.
“We have to understand why a 12- or 13-year-old child joins a gang and gives his life to it,” Poveda said in a recent interview with El Faro, a Salvadoran online newspaper.
“Children who have terrible family problems, or come from poor families who don’t have time to take care of their children.”
The film concedes that gangs spread terror, but also describes the young gang members as captivating and as representative of the breakdown of family life in El Salvador.
La Vida Loca trailer:
Poveda's first visit to El Salvador was during the civil war in the 1980s, covering the violence as a photojournalist for Time magazine. He returned in the 1990s, this time to capture Salvadoran gangs on documentary film.
Poveda's murder is attributed to gang members, and President Mauricio Funes expressed his shock at the filmmaker's murder, ordering a thorough investigation. Public Safety Minister Manuel Melgar also vowed to work relentlessly to bring Poveda's killers to justice.
Sources:
The Times Online
The New York Times
BBC News
