Allan Francovich: The Houses Are Full of Smoke

Allan Francovich, The Houses Are Full of Smoke/ En el humo de esta epoca USA, 1987, 16mm, 176 min

Allan Francovich’s epic three part documentary The Houses Are Full of Smoke 1987 exposes the history of clandestine operations and U.S interventions in Central America since the 1950s. The film explores the social and political situation in the region in three sections on Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua. Built on extensive research conducted over six years, the film combines interviews with people from across the political spectrum - Sandinista leaders, Guatemalan campesinos, CIA operatives, Contras and US government apologists - to trace the political injustices and brutalities inflicted by both local and international governments.

Allan Francovich (1941 – 1997) was an American film producer and director who made investigative documentaries on political issues including a series of films critical of the CIA and US foreign policy including On Company Business 1980, Inside the CIA 1987 and the controversial documentary The Maltese Double Cross – Lockerbie, which challenged the official view that Libya was responsible for the sabotage of Pan Am Flight 103. Prior to Houses Are Full of Smoke he made Short Circuit 1985 about the murder of nuns in El Salvador.