Remember Us

In Remember Us, a journalist documents the experiences of three different people who lived through the tragic 12-year-long Salvadoran Civil War in the 1980s, exploring themes of childhood loss, violence against women and the Indigenous population, and regaining a sense of hope for the future that spans over three generations.

Read a statement by Remember Us writer and director Pablo Leon below. Leon is also the author of Silenced Voices: Reclaiming Memories from the Guatemalan Genocide, a historical fiction book.

When it comes to Central America, a mostly ignored region full of conflict and repression, I’ve tried my best to always put the utmost importance on putting a spotlight on our culture, our indigenous roots, and some of the genuine problems, like the echoes of armed conflicts that can still be heard to this day. In this film, like in most of my work, I focus on generational memory, ordinary people living through raw and drastic situations, their resolve, and trying to balance it with the fantastic things our culture and our people can achieve.

In general, they are painful topics, but I feel it’s important to revisit the past to heal and move forward so we don’t repeat the same mistakes. Why animation? I wanted to have a sense of anonymity for everyone who shared their stories with us, as well as create specific feelings with the imagery, and animation gives me such an expressive control to have all of that and more.

Learn more in an article about the film in Animation World Network.

Watch the full animated short film below.