HOMELAND

Set in both New York City and El Salvador, a young gang member is deported for his part in the murder of a rival gang member.
Sent back to his native El Salvador, where he has not been since childhood, the gang member finds the only relative he can remember, his aunt. There, he struggles with the same pressures of gang life in order to survive. His aunt’s stories of tragedy during the war years in El Salvador, serve to bond the two together. In the end we get a sense that for the first time in his life, he has meet someone who has suffered more than he. Perhaps her strength will inspire him to carry on towards a life outside the violence of the gangs.
A touching short, Homeland is a real eye opener. In recent years we’ve been bombarded with stories of gangs and gang violence. In the case of Homeland, the sensationalism of this lifestyle is thrown out the window; instead the film digs into the isolation and confusion felt by a young man trying to find his way through the violence and poverty surrounding him.