Film Forum

The young Sandinista revolutionaries defeated Somoza, a notoriously despotic and corrupt tyrant, in 1979, taking control of Nicaragua until 1990. For nearly a decade they fought a civil war with the US-backed “Contras,” lost a 1990 election, and then resurfaced in 2006. While up to 30% of the rebel combatants were female (peasants, housewives, and intellectuals), women were systematically denied meaningful roles in the newly formed government. Today, they testify to staggering levels of violence against women in Nicaragua. ¡LAS SANDINISTAS! gives vibrant voice to their story: combining archival footage of teenage girls toting AK-47s with the women they’ve become who declare unequivocally: “We have to make the revolution all over again.”

Presented with support from the Richard Brick, Geri Ashur, and Sara Bershtel Fund for Social Justice Documentaries

NICARAGUA/US    2018   96 MINS.   IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES

FILM SALES CO.

Reviews

“Director Jenny Murray expertly weaves rare and revealing archival footage with deep interviews that sensitively explore what it felt like to participate in a revolutionary struggle for justice. I left the theater feeling as though I had been given a glimpse into a life that I secretly wish I could live myself… It paints an amazingly detailed and intimate portrait of a revolution, which is a rare thing for a film to even attempt.”
– Mark Read, The Indypendent

“This is far from the first film to try to dig deeper into the Sandinista movement, but it’s arguably the best. This feat is accomplished in no small part by telling the story from the perspective of the women who fought with and supported the movement, taking us deep inside the push for revolutionary change that, all demonization be damned, accomplished some great and exciting things for a country that had been long stagnant under dictatorial rule… Paints an in depth and intimate portrayal of FSLN that pierces right to the core of the revolutionary ideals that moved them. Through their eyes, the movement is intensely humanized, and their so-called evil is given a face that tells another side to the story—one that showcases the improvement of healthcare, education, and the lives of so many in Nicaragua… Murray explores this all with shocking depth and stunning detail, creating a powerful portrait of the nature of freedom and what it means to be willing to die to earn it.”
– James Roberts, Glide Magazine