Director shot dead

French-Spanish director Christian Poveda was murdered yesterday, after shooting a documentary about the gangs of San Salvador.

After making several documentaries about the 1980's civil war in El Salvador, Christian Poveda came to know many criminal gangs in the region.

His last film, «La vida loca», is due out soon in France after being shown at international film festivals in the past few months. In «La vida loca», Poveda took a close look at member of the powerful Mara 18 gang, which was founded a few years ago in Los Angeles, and is made up of Salvadorian immigrants who fled the civil war.