The Offended

(Los ofendidos)
Marcela Zamora | Documentary

2016 | 85 minutes | Mexico, El Salvador

An award-winning documentary on the legacy of the internal armed conflict in El Salvador, The Offended features the director’s charismatic father, Rubén Zamora, a key political leader and current Salvadorian Ambassador before the UN who was captured and tortured by the National Police during the country’s civil war.

Synopsis

An award-winning documentary on the legacy of the internal armed conflict in El Salvador, The Offended features the director’s charismatic father, Rubén Zamora, a key political leader and Salvadorian Ambassador before the UN, who was captured and tortured by the National Police during the country’s civil war.

Illustrated with shocking archive footage, Zamora’s testimony, as well as that of others who suffered a similar fate, provides insight into the scope of this horrific war during which tens of thousands of people were murdered in shadowy circumstances.

An interview with a man who took part in the torture in a subordinate capacity also makes us aware of the cruelty people are capable of.

Above all, The Offended breaks the silence – not only of the generation that went through all of this in person, but also of the next generation, which is afraid of reopening the old wounds.

Reviews

"Marcela Zamora questions the past to talk about the present... Her work travels the history of her country since its birth; providing a roadmap." — Alberto Arce, The New York Times

"Gives voice to those stories many would prefer to keep silent." — Manuel Betancourt, Remezcla

"An important exercise for recognition and grieving." — Fernando Bustos Gorozpe, Sopitas

"The documentary includes abundant archive material that allows for the contextualization of a dark chapter of this Central American country and adds the riveting testimonies of tortured people and the finding of a torturer that, with a covered face, agrees to talk about what happened." — Jorge Cappelloni, El Angel Exterminador

"Marcela Zamora Chamarro's work has been an indomable hurricane. The documentary filmmaker has managed to shake the consciousness of those who perceive -through her work- the fragile limbo between life and death in El Salvador." — Orus Villacorta, Revista Factum

Citation
Main credits

Zamora Chamorro, Marcela (film director)
Zamora Chamorro, Marcela (screenwriter)
Zamora Chamorro, Marcela (on-screen participant)
Fernández, Julio López (film producer)
Zamora, Rubén (on-screen participant)
Martínez, Ana Guadalupe (on-screen participant)

Other credits

Cinematographer, Álvaro Rodríguez Sánchez; editor, Andrea Bilbao.


Citation
Cataloging
Keywords
violence, memoirs, military, junta, torture, inhumane, real events, injustice, communism, corruption, war, civil war, victims, survivors, torturer, police, Marcela Zamora, El Salvador, exile, dictatorship, FMLN, peace accord, Jose Napoleon Duarte, Ronald Reagan, united nations, Fidel Castro, cold war, Farabundo Martí, Ruben Zamora, spanish, spanish language, latin america, latin american cinema, latin american film, ibero america, latin, latinx, latino, latina,,latin american studies, caribbean american studies, island studies, latin american culture, latin american history, latin american politics, caribbean american culture, caribbean american history, caribbean american politics, latin american languages, latin american and caribbean studies, hispanic american studies, hispanic people, hispanic culture, hispanic politics,criminal justice, crime, judiciary, police reform, corrections, criminal law, judicial system, justice department, prosecution, judgement, criminal law, courts and corrections, corrections institutes,authority, authoritarianism, dictatorship, military regime, military government, fascism, repression, oppression, political oppression, political repression, far right, far right wing, modern fascism,human rights, public rights, equal rights, freedom of expression, basic human rights, united nations, activism, human rights activism, human rights council, human rights commission, universal human rights, universal rights,history, context, narrative, past, chronicle, lore, annals, historic, personal history, archive, record, saga, biography, memoir, study,south america, south american countries, countries in south america, argentina, bolivia, brazil, chile, colombia, ecuador, guyana, paraguay, peru, suriname, uruguay, venezuela, south american politics, south american culture, south american cuisine, south american education, south america in media, south american languages, south america history,sociology, anthropology, psychology, sociological, sociological perspectives, conflict theory, human conflicts, sociological thinking,conflict perspective, topics in sociology, sociology topics, sociology studies, social studies, people and cultures, human relations, human relationships, cultural studies, culture studies ,political science, micropolitics, macropolitics, political theory, political education, political movements, political thinking, political criticism, poly sci, polysci, political sci, political sciences, political history, history of politics, political systems,culture, identity, identity politics, culture wars, left wing, right wing, intersectionality, identity groups, civilization, literacy, humanism, cancel culture, online culture, cultural revolution, cultural diffusion, culture shock, popular culture, pop culture, material culture, cultural capital, cultural assimilation ,family, kin, fellowship, household, immediate family, extended family, multigenerational family, multigenerational household, kinfolk, family tree, genealogy, nuclear family, modern family, family tree,The Offended,El Salvador,los ofendidos,marcela zamora,ofendidos,zamora,los ofrendidos,offended,salvador,the offenders,international politics,latin america,armed struggle,los ofendidos marcela zimora,insurgency in latin america,latin,alberto ray,Salvadoran,Los Ofendidos/The Offended: The Legacy of the Internal Armed Conflict in El Salvador,Paraiso,torture,international comedies,second mother,zalma zamora,the world stopped watching,le salvador,communism,El salvador niños,international films,japanese internment,El baño del Papa,el salvaador,documentary,Nicaragua,the ofended,the offedend,purple rain,milano international film,el salvadore,human rights,Marcela,mining South America conflicts,salvadorean revolution,Undocumented,intern,el ángel,el cinco de mayo,el salvador decades of terror,post-conflict,betancourt,Honduras,women in Latin American armed conflict,the soccer wars,mexico,el salvador washington,iron jawed angels,Guazapa: Yesterday’s Enemies,el salvador colonialism history,talk to her,central america,leftist,marx,Amnesty,The Offended: The Legacy of the Internal Armed Conflict in El Salvador,guatemala,Armed,el gremlin imaginario,latin american women,conflict 1945,costa rica,(Marcela Zamora,ambassador,international relations,el salvador civil war,de nadie,guillermo del toro,truth and reconciliation,central airport,conflict,romero,maria's story,pragda,los ofendidtos,pinochet,cia in el salvador,El Salvador Gang violence,Zapata El sueño del loco,Guerrilla,"the offended",documentaries,cimarron spirit,Innocent Voices,marcela said,delgada linea,international conflict,salvadorean insurrection,Hands of God,marcella zamora; Violence, Criminal Justice, Culture, Identity, Dictatorship, Family, History, Human Rights, Memoirs, Military, Junta, Repression, Government, Torture, Inhumane, Real Events, Injustice, Communism, Corruption, War, Civil War, International Politics, Sociology, Victims, Survivors, Torturer, Police, Marcela Zamora; "The Offended: Revealing the truth about the repression during El Salvador’s civil war."; Pragda,doc; history
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Festivals

Havana Film Festival - Jury's Mention
Costa Rica Film Festival - Audience Award
ICARO International Film Festival Guatemala - Best Central American Documentary
IDFA International Documentary Festival Amsterdam
Mar del Plata international Film Festival
Guadalajara International Film Festival

DIRECTOR: Marcela Zamora

NATIONALITY: Mexico, El Salvador

YEAR: 2016

GENRE: Documentary

LANGUAGE: Spanish

COLOR / B&W: Color

GRADE LEVEL: College, Adults

SUBTITLE/CC: AVAILABLE

AUDIO DESCRIPTION: NOT AVAILABLE

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