Se le moviò el piso (The earth moved under him) A portrait of Managua
Managua, the capital of Nicaragua, is the most singular city I encountered during a four-month long trip through Central America. To get a better grasp of the city, I crisscrossed it by bus. The shabbiness of the center creates an impression of violence. The scars from forty years of dictatorship, fifteen years of war, and the 1972 earthquake, have not yet been erased. Among the ruins of the 1972 earthquake, the Salazar theater, with its imposing thirties architecture, appears to be a huge stage. This theater – and the dozens of families that live in it – is the main subject of my film. Inside the theater as well as outside, people wander ceaselessly and aimlessly, with very little hope. My meeting with Sofìa Montenegro, a journalist and a Sandinista, was a key factor in structuring this documentary. Thanks to many hours of interviews with her, there are two points of view on the city, both subjective voice-overs. Mine an outsider’s perception, hers an insider’s description.
reviews and awards
Coral Award for Best Non-Latin American Documentary on Latin America at the 18th International Festival of New Latin American Cinema, Havana, Cuba.
"In Nicaragua, there is a very common expression to say that someone is totally out of control or shocked, you say the earth or the floor moved. “Se le moviò el piso.” This is a constant reference to this horrible experience of having the earth beneath you that doesn’t belong to you. You lose the sense of gravity. You’re a fucking marionette." —Sofìa Montenegro
screenings
18th International Festival of New Latin American Cinema
Havana, Cuba (Dec. 1996)
Rencontres Cinémas d'Amérique Latine
Toulouse, France (March 1997)
Managua, the capital of Nicaragua, is the most singular city I encountered during a four-month long trip through Central America. To get a better grasp of the city, I crisscrossed it by bus. The shabbiness of the center creates an impression of violence. The scars from forty years of dictatorship, fifteen years of war, and the 1972 earthquake, have not yet been erased. Among the ruins of the 1972 earthquake, the Salazar theater, with its imposing thirties architecture, appears to be a huge stage. This theater – and the dozens of families that live in it – is the main subject of my film. Inside the theater as well as outside, people wander ceaselessly and aimlessly, with very little hope. My meeting with Sofìa Montenegro, a journalist and a Sandinista, was a key factor in structuring this documentary. Thanks to many hours of interviews with her, there are two points of view on the city, both subjective voice-overs. Mine an outsider’s perception, hers an insider’s description. 