Their faces say it all. A series of photograph-like portraits opens this quiet film which nonetheless has an immense power. When the inhabitants of the village of Cinquera open up in front of the camera they reveal scarred souls and an unshakeable dignity. During the civil war in El Salvador, which shook the country from 1979 to 1992, Cinquera was levelled to the ground because the village was believed to be a stronghold of the guerrillas who fought against the military regime. But the survivors returned. They cleared away debris, bones and skulls and began to build a new life out of nothing. For her debut film, the Mexican-Salvadorian director Tatiana Huezo went back to her own roots to portray her grandmother’s birthplace. In breathtaking images by cinematographer Ernesto Pardo and a separate soundtrack of interviews Huezo talks about village life and coping with trauma in the midst of a forest where the voices of the dead can still be heard.

(DOK Liepzig, Jörn Seidel)