¡Las Sandinistas!
2018, 96 minutes, Digital
Nicaragua, USA
Language: English, Spanish with English subtitles
Director: Jenny Murray
3/29 FREE screening hosted by director Jenny Murray
¡Las Sandinistas! uncovers the untold stories of women who shattered barriers to lead combat and social reform during Nicaragua’s 1979 Sandinista Revolution, and the ensuing US-backed Contra War, as these same women continue as leaders in the struggle against their current government’s suppression of democracy and women’s rights.
The film is centered around the personal stories of Dora Maria Téllez, the young medical student who became a major Sandinista General, and four of her revolutionary allies – Nicaraguan women who overcame traditional gender barriers and subverted stereotypes to lead rebel troops in battle and reshape their country with landmark social reform. ¡Las Sandinistas! exposes a watershed moment in history when thousands of women transformed society’s definition of womanhood and leadership before facing renewed marginalization by their male peers after the wars ended. Now, 35 years later, amidst staggering levels of gender violence in Nicaragua, these same women brave the streets once again to lead popular movements for equality and democracy.
“A documentary of ripe impact and value… with its rich archival footage, and its nuts-and-bolts view of a revolution that was every bit as seismic as the one in Cuba, it’s instructive to see how the rebellion against an autocracy gets built: gun by gun, body by body, skirmish by skirmish.”
— Owen Gleiberman, Variety
“A rousing, tribute to the female members of Nicaragua’s revolutionary Sandinista party.”
— Keith Uhlich, The Hollywood Reporter
Part of the series CONTEMPORARY WOMEN FILMMAKERS and MAKING CINEMA MATTER IN BALTIMORE.
Join director Jenny Murray for a FREE masterclass March 30, 10am-1pm, at the Parkway.
MAKING CINEMA MATTER IN BALTIMORE is a FREE artist-led workshop and screening series featuring distinguished visiting filmmakers who connect their films and filmmaking to social, creative, or cultural issues in Baltimore. This project is presented in partnership with Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), Johns Hopkins University, Maryland Film Festival/Stavros Niarchos Foundation Parkway Theatre, and the Saul Zaentz Innovation Fund. This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.
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