Innocent Voices

Voces Innocentes

Thu 10 6.30 Barbican

Sat 19 3.30 Rio

School Screenings

Mon 14 10.00 Phoenix / Fri 18 10.00 Genesis

Call the Box Office on 020 7382 7211(Mon-Fri 10am-5pm) to book

Eleven year old Chava lives with his family in El Salvador in Central America in the 1980s. He enjoys hanging out with his friends and all the things that 11-year-olds do. The violent civil war in his country forces him to grow up fast, sheltering his younger brothers and sisters from gunfire and earning money to help the family survive. And whilst children, even during war, try to play games and have fun, no boy in the village wants to become twelve. At twelve you join the army. A powerful film about a hidden ‘casualty’ of war - children’s loss of hope and faith.

Mexico 2004, dir. Luis Mandoki, 110 min. The Works Distribution
Spanish with English subtitles



This film is part of the LCFF's Official Selection

and here are the reviews from the LCFF's First Light Young Jury:

The outline of the story is basically: A small boy called Chava lives in a small town in El Salvador. A civil war is happening and any boy aged 12 is whisked away to fight in the army. Chava is 11 years old and is dreading his next birthday.

The story is very moving, you really feel for the characters. Every time something happens to Chava or one of his friends you automatically feel guilty that you’re not suffering the way they are.

My favourite scene is when the El Salvadorian army has stormed the guerrilla camp and captured Chava and three of his friends. I like this because of the suspense.

My favourite character is Chava’s uncle because of the way he acts like a father to Chava and his siblings. That’s the reason Chava runs off to the guerrilla camp to fight like his uncle.

The audience is probably around 12-13 year olds because of the language (Spanish) and emotions. If an 8-year-old went to see the film I think they would be in bits and crying their eyes out.

Zack, 13