Streaming Access
Unfortunately, this film is not available for streaming yet.
As soon as it will be available for streaming, it will appear in your university streaming page.

Unforgivable (Imperdonable)

.

Geovany was a ruthless hitman for the 18th Street gang and nowadays is serving his sentence in an isolation cell in El Salvador. In prison, he withdrew from the gang and joined an evangelical church that lavished God’s forgiveness on him. However, there is a sin that is not forgivable for either the gang or the church: being gay.


Press

  • Time
    Inside a Prison Cell for Gay Former Gang Members in El Salvador:
    The film’s nuanced portrayal of the former gang members’ experience won it international praise and prizes at a string of major film festivals in 2020, making it the first Salvadoran film to be eligible for an Oscar
    Ciara Nugent
  • BBC News
    "It is easier to kill a person than to love a man": Unforgivable, the powerful documentary about a homosexual gang member in El Salvador
    Alejandro Millán Valencia
  • The Economist
    An astonishing documentary follows a young, gay sicario in prison
    Sarah Esther Maslin
  • Independent Magazine
    The Vulnerability of Monsters in Unforgivable:
    “The film is an incredibly unique look into the nuanced lives of former gang members and their experiences, which has since been attributed to praise across the Americas, Europe, and Asia”.
    Courtney Gardner
  •  

  •  
  • Quotes

  • "Unforgivable is far and away my favorite film I've seen this year at any length. A clear, humane and uncompromising window into the soul"
    Barry Jenkins (Academy Award Winner)
  • "Unforgivable is an extraordinary film. A story of human redemption through love in the most adverse conditions, told through scenes of eye-opening poignancy. Simply unforgettable"
    Jon Lee Anderson (Journalist and writer for The New Yorker)
  • "Unforgivable is hands-down one of the best short docs of 2020. Was really moved to the core"
    Poh Si Teng (Academy Award Nominee)
  • Palm Springs Short Fest 2021
    "For its unprecedented access, compassion and ability to find light in the darkest of places, as well as its careful treatment of the humanity and vulnerability of its subjects, the jury gives the Best of the Festival Award to Unforgivable by Marlén Viñayo"
    Jury Notes
  • Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival
    "This exquisitely beautiful film immerses us into a world shaped by extreme poverty, intolerance and brutality and it reveals unimaginable horror of circumstances and beauty of souls intertwined. What opposites are carried in human beings. Director Marlen Viñayo clearly took care to make a layered and sensitive film and she does not try to blunt or resolve these contradictions. She shows this hopeless, unforgiving world with a ruthless compassion and artistic brilliance that reveals human goodness amidst the unremitting poverty, injustice, brutality. Unforgivable shows the unquenchbility of connection even in the darkest places."
    Jury Notes
  •  

  •  
  • Academic Article

  • ReVista, Harvard Review of Latin America
    Student ReViews: Unforgivable

    "One of the most impressive aspects of the documentary is the unprecedented access Viñayo had of the maximum-security prison. The director takes the audience through the exposed hallways, the brick-and-mortar walls and the dead tropical heat inside the one prison wing reserved for gay gang members."
    Romina Ruiz-Goiriena

Festival Participation

  • IDFA - 2020
    Winner: Best Short Documentary Award (Oscar Qualifying)
  • Hot Docs - 2020
    Winner: Best International Short Documentary Award (Oscar Qualifying)
  • Palm Springs Short Fest - 2021
    Winner: Best of the Festival Award (Oscar Qualifying)
  • Slamdance - 2020
    Winner: Grand Jury Prize (Best Short Documentary) (Oscar Qualifying)
  • IDA Documentary Awards - 2021
    Nominee: Best Short
  • Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival - 2021
    Winner: Best International Short Documentary Award (Oscar Qualifying)
  • Guanajuato International Film Festival - 2020
    Winner: Best International Short Documentary Award (Oscar Qualifying)
  • Telluride Film Festival - 2020
    Official Selection Filmmakers of tomorrow
  • Premio Gabo - 2021
    Winner Image Category
  • AFI Docs - 2021
    Nominee: Best Short Documentary
  • MDOC - Melgaco Documentary Film Festival - 2021
    Winner: Jean-Loup Passek Award for Best international Short or Medium-length film
  • Aguilar Film Festival - 2021
    Winner: Best Director, Audience Award and Best Film from Castilla & León
  • Pictures of the Year Latam (POY Latam) - 2021
    Winner: Ibero-American Filmmaker of the Year Award and Best Short Documentary
  • PERSO Perugia Film Festival - 2021
    Winner: Audience Award
  • St. Louis International Documentary Film Festival - 2021
    Nominee: Best International Short Documentary

Additional Materials

Distribution Company

Back to Film Summary

This Week’s Featured Films