Award Celebrates Powerful Storytelling of Youth-Led Artistic Resistance in Guatemala

June 18, 2025, –  Shine Global, the award-winning nonprofit media company dedicated to producing and supporting films that highlight the resilience of children around the world, is proud to announce Comparsa as the 2025 winner of the Children’s Resilience Award for Documentary, in partnership with Sheffield DocFest, the UK’s leading documentary festival and one of the world’s most influential markets for documentary projects.

Making its world premiere at Sheffield DocFest and directed by Vickie Curtis and Doug Anderson, Comparsa is a stirring portrait of two teen sisters in Ciudad Peronia, Guatemala who, in the wake of their friends murder and a backdrop of unchecked violence against women and girls, stage a carnival street parade and public performance as a protest. Through their courageous, art-driven resistance, they fight for the safety and freedom of women and girls and a new way for their community to come together.

“We are proud to present the 2025 Shine Global Children’s Resilience Award for Documentary to Comparsa,” said Alexandra Blaney, Co-CEO and Creative Director of Shine Global. “The film elevates the voices of young people who are confronting injustice and demanding change in their communities. Comparsa is also a beautifully filmed story of resilience, resistance, and the transformative power of art, produced with incredible care over many years. Sisters Lesli and Lupe are inspirational as they pull together a group of teen girls as protesters and performers to dance, stilt walk, drum, and breathe fire in a celebration of self-expression and a call for change in their community. Their story is told so joyfully and effectively it is sure to inspire organizers of all ages around the world.” 

The film is the result of a rare collaboration between members of the film team and its participants. Producer Anna Hadingham, who lived and worked in Guatemala for more than a decade, partnered with sisters Lesli and Lupe, members of Peronia Adolescente, the grassroots youth arts collective where their organizing first took root. The film offers an extraordinary lens into their world — and their creative approach to healing and community building.

Comparsa marks the directorial debut of Vickie Curtis, a seasoned documentary writer, and is co-directed and produced by Doug Anderson, with producers Anna Hadingham and Olivia Ahnemann.

“We’re incredibly proud to partner with Shine Global to spotlight Comparsa at this year’s festival,” said Raul Niño Zambrano, Creative Director at Sheffield DocFest. “The film is a testament to the strength, creativity, and leadership of young people — and a beautiful example of what long-term, trust-based documentary storytelling can achieve.”

The Shine Global Resilience Awards were created to honor films that highlight the strength, dignity, and power of children in the face of adversity. This year marks the first time Shine Global has partnered with Sheffield DocFest, one of the world’s leading documentary festivals, to present a documentary award. Past winners of the Resilience Awards include the feature documentaries Daughters (2024, Directed by Angela Patton and Natalie Rae), Name Me Lawand (2023, Directed by Edward Lovelace), and Lift (2022, Directed by David Petersen), Los Frikis (2024, written and directed by Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz) in partnership with Nantucket Film Festival, the short documentary Ayenda (2023, directed by Marie Margolius) and the live action short Unibrow (2024, directed by Nedda Sarshar) in partnership with Heartland Film’s Indy Shorts International Film Festival, Okthanksbye (2023, Nicole Van Kilsdok) with ReelAbilities Film Festival, and the animated children’s films Savages (2024 directed by Claude Barras) and Dounia – The Great White North (2024, directed by Marya Zarif and André Kadi) in partnership with the New York International Children’s Film Festival.  

Comparsa is screening at Sheffield DocFest with Q&As featuring the filmmakers and participants in person:

Sat 21 June 20:45 – 22:24
Curzon – Screen 1
Q&A with directors Vickie Curtis and Doug Anderson, and protagonists Marta Chicoj, Lesli and Lupe Perez. Moderated by Mathy Selvakumaran.

Sun 22 June 12:45 – 14:24
The Light – Screen 9
Q&A with directors Vickie Curtis and Doug Anderson, and protagonists Marta Chicoj, Lesli and Lupe Perez. Moderated by Amy Bryant.

Comparsa Ignites at Sheffield DocFest
Thu 19 June 19:00 – 20:00
Tudor Square
FREE EVENT! Come meet Guatemalan artists Lesli and Lupe for body paint, fire, and street circus accompanied by batucada beats from local musician Grupo de Gringos. Lesli and Lupe Pérez are the community organisers and performers featured in the feature documentary Comparsa. No ticket purchase required.
Details: https://www.sheffdocfest.com/composition/comparsa-ignites-sheffield-docfest#tickets

About Shine Global

Shine Global is a non-profit media company that improves the lives of children by telling powerful stories to raise awareness, promote action, and inspire change. We produce inspiring films and compelling content about underserved children. Through tailored distribution and outreach, we connect with our audiences in communities, classrooms, museums, and on Capitol Hill as part of a powerful engagement campaign to encourage social change.

Since our founding in 2005, Shine Global films have won more than 100 major awards, including an Academy Award® for Best Documentary Short Subject for Inocente and an Academy Award®-nomination and two Emmys® for War/Dance, and an Academy Award®-nomination for Anuja. Recent films include the documentary-animation hybrid Liyana, the hit documentary The Eagle Huntress, Through Our Eyes: Homefront which is available on HBOMax, the Ariel Award winner Home Is Somewhere Else, and Comedy Against the Odds.

About Sheffield DocFest

Sheffield DocFest is the UK’s leading documentary festival and one of the world’s most influential markets for documentary projects. We champion and present the breadth of documentary form – film, television, podcast, immersive and art – in the vibrant city of Sheffield each June. We offer makers and audiences a place for inspiration, debate, development, learning and challenge. Our programming represents our core values – creativity, empathy, freedom, inclusivity and internationalism.  https://www.sheffdocfest.com/