THE MOON STIRS THE WATERS: Stories of Seas, Songs, and Souls from Central America

An experimental short film programme curated by Cinema Mentiré for the New Central American Cinema season at The Garden Cinema

10 MAY 2024, 8 PM | The Garden Cinema

In the stillness of Central American nights, murmurs of news and memories unfold like the swaying of the tide under the watchful gaze of the moon. Inspired by this evocative landscape, Cinema Mentiré has curated a special programme of six short films by emergent filmmakers from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Panama.

Using hybrid techniques, found footage, and absorbing soundtracks, the programme features a selection of intimately crafted short films that, through their innovational narratives, delicately collect fragments of experiences. Within this expressive universe, some memories yearn to be shared, inviting the storytellers to navigate and thus re-formulate them. A journey through recollections of the territory, a lagoon lost in time, a red moon, a ship aground, a song echoing verities, a call to reveal confidences, women facing family trauma, or what a body can carry. These stories gently untangle the knots in the throat, inviting us to heal, forgive, and remember.

THE MOON STIRS THE WATERS: Stories of Seas, Songs, and Souls from Central America

The Moon Will Contain Us | Solo la luna comprenderá

Dir. Kim Torres, Costa Rica / USA, 2023, 18min

As a magical moon creeps in, different timelines entwine in the mysterious and stagnant town of Manzanillo.

Solastalgia

Dir. Violeta Mora, Honduras / Cuba, 2022, 16min

An old painting is the last trace of the dried-up lagoon. Its contours are blurred.

Other | Otra

Dir. Sheyla Santana Mora, Costa Rica, 2021, 7min.

A dreamlike exploration of the body, desires, and spirit of the Guanacastecan woman.

Drawing Desire | Dibujar el deseo

Dir. Gabriela Novoa, El Salvador, 2021, 10min

Poetic images and testimonies from six women weave a collective voice about eroticism, pleasure, abuse, and repression.

A Love Song in Spanish

Dir. Ana Elena Tejera, Panama / France, 2021, 24min

A biographical performance between the director and her grandmother to confront the domestic dictatorship of their family.

Soul of the Sea | Liremu Barana

Dir. Elvis Caj Cojoc, Guatemala / Norway, 2020, 9min

Arisa dances every day and night to songs that tell of her people's and her ancestors' struggles. A lyrical meditation on young womanhood, identity, and belonging in a Garifuna community in Guatemala.

This screening is part of the programme of the New Central American Cinema season, taking place from the 4th May to the 11th June 2024 at The Garden Cinema.