Independent filmmaker Christian Figueroa is a native of El Salvador, where he witnessed first hand the ravages of the civil war. Vivid images of this armed conflict and a personal quest for answers to the origin of collective violence inspired him to confront social issues through cinema. He has directed short documentary films in the U.S., Cuba, China, Italy, and El Salvador. His films problematize and deal with notions of cultural identity, urban issues, trauma, and historical memory.

He is currently developing his feature film Flowers of May, which narrates through testimonies the summary executions of more than six hundred civilians during the Sumpul River massacre at the onset of the Salvadoran Civil War. The film follows the individual stories of the survivor’s long struggle to get justice which endures to present day, as the judicial system of El Salvador has failed to acknowledge this human rights violation.

Christian Figueroa holds an MFA in Cinema Production from San Francisco State University and was a 2019 BAVC MediaMaker Fellow. He worked as a volunteer imparting documentary film workshops in El Salvador, and most recently as an educator teaching video production to low income youth in San Francisco, California.