COMPARSA         

OFFICIAL SELECTION | FEATURE DOC

AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE

GENRE: DOCUMENTARY | YEAR OF PRODUCTION: 2025 | LENGTH: 79 MIN | COUNTRY: GUATEMALA

DIRECTOR: VICKIE CURTIS, DOUG ANDERSON | PRODUCERS: OLIVIA AHNEMANN, ANNA HADINGHAM, VICKIE CURTIS + DOUG ANDERSON

BOOK BYRON BAY
BOOK BRUNSWICK HEADS
A promotional poster for the film 'Comparsa' shows two women facing each other with fire and flames between them, and a group of people around a campfire in the background, with the Sheffield 2025 DocFest award emblem.

In a Guatemalan barrio silenced by fear, two teenage sisters lead a luminous rebellion - unleashing giant puppets, fire, and artful performance to protest gender violence in a joyful fight for survival.

Comparsa fully immerses audiences in the intense world of Ciudad Peronia, Guatemala, where sisters Lesli and Lupe use art and performance to rally 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 power structure that permits and commits violence against women, and they open up about surviving violence in their own home. Their youth movement takes to the streets, confronting corruption and reclaiming public 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 15-year relationship between the subjects and the film team to offer a stirring portrait of sisterhood, peacebuilding, and the transformational power of art.

WINNER: Grand Jury Award, International First Feature Competition, Sheffield DocFest 2025

WINNER: IQ One World Award, Woods Hole Film Festival 2025

WINNER: Children's Resilience Award for Documentary, Shine Global 2025 

RUNNER-UP: Audience Award, Sheffield DocFest 2025

RUNNER-UP: Audience Award, Woods Hole Film Festival 2025

Byron session screens with Hilda O. vs. The State of New York & My Mother is a Cow

Brunswick Heads session screens with Hilda O. vs. The State of New York & Omni and features a women’s safety panel.

Creating Safer Communities for Women
You can’t fix what you don’t face. Together, we build safer futures.

After the screening of Comparsa at Brunswick Picture House, join a vital community panel with Mandy Nolan, Mayor Sarah Ndiaye and Simone O’Brien exploring the realities of women's safety in our region. We’ll confront hard truths, amplify lived experiences, and explore practical pathways to action.

SESSION TIMES

  • PALACE BYRON BAY

    Saturday 18 October 3pm

    BOOK NOW

  • BRUNSWICK PICTURE HOUSE

    Saturday 25 October 7pm

    BOOK NOW
A woman with orange hair having colorful face paint and designs applied by an artist.
People participating in a nighttime candle lighting event, some wearing face masks, holding candles and sticks, with a dimly lit background.
Person holding a torch with large flames on a dark outdoor landscape during dusk or night.
A woman with curly hair, wearing a red shirt and green headband, looking at her phone. A man in a brown hoodie with "Hunter College" printed on it stands nearby with a confused or questioning expression, gesturing with his hands. The background shows
An aerial view of a basketball court in a neighborhood, with children and adults playing, walking, and gathering around a colorful umbrella outside.
A woman with intricate body and face paint resembling a butterfly, wearing a headpiece made of flowers, leaves, and feathers, against a black background.
Two people standing together on a quiet residential street at night, with one person's arm around the other's shoulder, illuminated by streetlights. There are houses, a wooden fence, and trees in the background, with a prominent purple flowering tree
A group of women participating in a colorful outdoor event or parade, with one woman in the foreground covered in daisy flower and other designs painted on her body and face, wearing a small floral headpiece. Other women in the background are also de
Close-up of a woman with colorful face paint, smiling with her eyes closed, outdoors.