realeyz   |    Saturday, der 3. October 2009

Working in the media, watching films, buying rights, one often forgets about the risks of filmmaking. Christian Poveda’s LA VIDA LOCA was a great example of a filmmaker getting involved and very close to the people he documented. He was able to come up with images and sounds that are very much in need to get an understanding of what is going on within the gang culture. A sad day for the documentary community. Here is the IDFA press release from the 4th of September 2009:

French filmmaker killed in El Salvador

Documentary filmmaker and photographer Christian Poveda was shot to death, presumably by members of an El Salvador gang. His body was found last Wednesday next to his car in Tonacatepeque, north of the capital San Salvador.

The 53-year old French-Spanish director was driving back from La Campanera, a poor, overcrowded suburb where he was filming. El Salvador’s president Mauricio Funes stated he was shocked by Poveda’s death and has ordered an investigation into the murder.

In 2008, Poveda made the much-discussed documentary La Vida Loca, about El Salvador gang life. The film has been screened at various festivals, and was selected for IDFA’s documentary market Docs for Sale.

Poveda first came to El Salvador as a photojournalist for Time in the 1980’s. He has also reported on wars in Iran, Iraq, Lebanon and other countries. Since the 1990’s he focused on making documentaries about street gangs in Central America.