COMPARSA immerses audiences in the intense world of Ciudad Peronia, Guatemala, where sisters Lesli and Lupe use art to inspire local youth and heal deep wounds. After 41 girls are killed in a State-run “Safe Home” and the government refuses to act, the sisters respond with a community comparsa—an exuberant street performance featuring towering puppets, fire-breathing stilt walkers, and thundering drums. With brave vulnerability, they expose a system that permits and commits violence against women, and they open up about surviving violence in their own home. They press on, taking to the streets to fight corruption and reclaim space for women and girls. Rooting their efforts in joy and community care, they find healing for themselves along the way. COMPARSA is built on a decades-long collaboration between the subjects and the filmmakers Vickie Curtis (SEARCHING FOR AMANI, CIFF 2024), Doug Anderson, and Anna Hadingham, offering a stirring portrait of sisterhood and the transformational power of art.

CONTENT ADVISORY: Discussions of violence against women