PRESS RELEASE: Jamie Moffett, with help from Martin Sheen, reveals the history of 2.5 million U.S. residents in the ground-breaking new documentary,"Return to El Salvador"
Submitted by RTES crew on Mon, 03/22/2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jamie Moffett, with help from Martin Sheen, reveals the history of 2.5 million U.S. residents in the ground-breaking new documentary,"Return to El Salvador"
Martin Sheen is well known for his activism in social justice and his involvement in antiwar and anti-military protests. He has often been outspoken in his condemnation of U.S. policies and his frequent sympathies with America's enemies in matters of international conflict. Sheen holds a particular interest in El Salvador and the Salvadoran civil war. Sheen was present for the January 17, 1990 protests of U.S. policies in El Salvador at the Federal Building, where 234 demonstrators were arrested. He has worked on movies such as, Choices of the Heart, which attributed the murders of four U.S. Catholic women in El Salvador to America’s political and military involvement in that country. Sheen has had frequent involvement in the Office of the Americas, an organization which acts as a vocal critic of U.S. foreign policy, decrying America's "culture of militarism" as the greatest obstacle to international harmony.
The Sheen-narrated "Return to El Salvador," the latest documentary from director Jamie Moffett, explores reconstruction of a post-civil war El Salvador. The 12-year conflict (from 1980 to 1992) killed over 70,000 people and displaced nearly one-fifth of the population. The fighting, which took place between the Salvadoran Army and the leftist guerrilla organization, the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), resulted in a staggering amount of civilian deaths as the Salvadoran Army bombed and raided villages thought to be sympathetic to the FMLN. Many of these Salvadoran Army soldiers were trained and supported by the United States military at its School of the Americas (now known as WHINSEC), located in Ft. Benning, Georgia.
"Return to El Salvador" brings the struggles of this beleaguered country back into view. You are introduced to a Salvadoran couple who fled death threats in the 1980s, finding asylum and a political platform in the United States. You will learn of a couple who, after escaping during the war, returned to El Salvador to work with churches and poor communities. And you will hear from the family of a murdered anti-mining activist and the people seeking the truth about his death.This film explores the hopes of the Salvadoran people and helps find significant ways to walk with them in their journey. "Return to El Salvador" represents the power and audacity of solidarity and challenges North Americans to question the global impact of their government on struggling nations.
Resources:
Website: http://returntoelsalvador.com
Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/returntoelsalvador/
"Return to El Salvador" trailer (VIDEO)
First 7 minutes of "Return to El Salvador", with Martin Sheen's narration (VIDEO)
"The Mysterious Death of Marcelo Rivera" (VIDEO)
About Us: Jamie Moffett Media Design & Production, uses motion picture to document the stories of those struggling for peace and justice in their communities and around the world; ordinary people who do extraordinary things with some simple love and service. In addition two feature-length documentaries, "The Ordinary Radicals" and "Return to El Salvador", they have produced dozens of short films, music videos and commercials.
Contact:
Jamie Moffett, Director
Jamie Moffett Media Design & Production, Inc.
Phone: 215.840.8552
http://www.returntoelsalvador.com
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