FILMAKERS LIBRARY
Women's Studies
Maria's Story
Produced by Pamela Cohen and Catherine M. Ryan Directed by Manona Wali and
Pamela Cohen
- "... documentary at its most illumi-nating and succinct... confronts
us with our country's responsibility in the ongoing ordeal of Maria and her
people while taking us way beyond political rhetoric." - Los Angeles
Times
- "Through an extraordinary combi-nation of historical film, on-location
footage and narrative, 'Maria's Story'...lets us understand why untold numbers
of ordinary Salvadoreans, like Maria, have chosen to fight for a better life,
if not for themselves, then for their children." - Tommie Sue Montgomery,
Prof., Latin American Studies
Maria's
Story is an intimate portrait of a thirty-nine-year old mother of three
who is a leader in the guerrilla movement in El Salvador. Short and stocky,
with ready wit and common sense, Maria Serrano is a down-to-earth woman whose
passion for social justice dominates her life. Born into extreme rural poverty,
she struggled for an education and, at fifteen, married her husband, Jose, who
now shares her commitment to the disenfranchized. Maria represents a growing
number of Latin American women on the forefront of social change.
The filmmakers spent seven weeks in Maria's temporary camp, under mortar fire
and helicopter surveillance, to capture the story of the human side of this
war.
Blue Ribbon, and Edward R. Murrow Award, American Film & Video Festival,
1991
Silver Apple, National Educational Film & Video Festival, 1991
Sundance, U.S. Film Festival, Park City, Utah, 1991
Latin American Studies Association, 1991
Silver Plaque, Chicago International Film Festival, 1990
58 min. Video: Sale $295; Video rental $75. A Spanish language version is available.
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