Fruits of War

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Fruits of War explores a devastating cycle of gang violence that has plagued El Salvador for more than thirty years. The film follows four reformed gang members -- Bullet, Rebel, Weazel, and Duke, who escaped to the United States as child refugees from El Salvador's bloody civil war. They settled in the tough east side of Los Angeles, eventually becoming involved in street gangs.

In an effort to suppress an epidemic of gang violence, the US began an aggressive policy of deporting undocumented gang members with felony records. When these four men return to El Salvador, they discover a country ravaged by war, and facing a new wave of violence as the LA street gangs take root in their homeland. The government, with support from the US, begins a brutal crackdown on the gangs, and these four men find themselves in the middle of a conflict eerily similar to the civil war -- pitting the army and police against thousands of El Salvador's poorest residents, now members of the gangs. As they come to terms with their two countries' violent histories, these former gang members redirect their lives towards helping young people deal with this legacy.

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Fruits of War: Crew & Credits

Director
Josiah Hooper

Producers
Eros Hoagland
Jake Bergman

Editors
Daniel Price
Manuel Tsingaris

Camera
Josiah Hooper
Tom Long

Still Photography
Eros Hoagland
John Hoagland

Music
DigDug
Marvin "Bullet" Novoa
Jose Ruiz
Orixa

Title Sequence
Ryan Medeiros

Original Score
DigDug
Agartha Audio ASCAP

Re-Recording Mixer
Paul J. Zahnley C.A.S.
Disher Music & Sound

Online Editor
Shirley Gutierrez

Assistant Editors
Kristin Rasmussen
Dan Krause

Consultants
Jose "Beto" Arias
Miguel Cruz
Luis Rodriguez
Magdaleno Rose Avila
Lydia Chavez
David Ritsher
Oriana Zill de Granados

Sound Consultant
Colin Rush
Policia Nacional Civil de El Salvador
Radio Venceremos

"Frutos de la Guerra"
Written & Performed by
M. Novoa "Bullet"
Produced by DigDug

"Sacudete"
Written by R. Jimenez ASCAP
Performed by Orixa

Fiscal Sponsor
Center for Independent Documentary

Funding
Pacific Pioneer Fund
Fleischacker Foundation
National Council on Crime
and Delinquency

Additional Funding & Support
Por la Paz Network
Trout Farm Ltd.
Cam Bay LLC

Gracias y
Alex Sanchez
Marvin Novoa
William Huezo
Victor Garcia
Sylvia Beltran
Homies Unidos
The Novoa Family
The Huezo Family
The Sanchez Family
The Hoagland Family
The Hooper Family
The Tiller Bergman Family
Sapana Maya Sakya
Karuna Maya Sakya-Hooper
Sue Ellen McCann
Rachel Raney
Troy Garrity
Tom Hayden
Ian Inaba
Jake Lawrence
Matt Calder
Gerald Cote

Produced in Association with
KQED Public Television

Fruits of War
Copyright 2008
The Rake Productions
Cutting Blvd. Films