Comparsa Screening in New York City
Girl Rising and MADRE invite you to the NYC premiere of the award-winning film Comparsa, hailed by the American Film Institute as “an illuminating documentary about the transformational power of art."
Time & Location
Mar 18, 2026, 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Ford Foundation Center for Social Justic, 320 E 43rd St, New York, NY 10017, USA
About the event
Join Girl Rising, MADRE, the creators of the Comparsa film and the film's protagonists for a special film screening. Comparsa fully immerses audiences in the intense world of Ciudad Peronia, Guatemala, where sisters Lesli and Lupe use art and performance 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.
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.