Cinema Arts Festival Houston 2009

Living at Risk is a snapshot of the life of a family during a period of civil war, uncertainty, and despair, five years after the Sandinistas gained power in Nicaragua, overthrowing the brutal and long reign of the Somoza family. Subtitled “The Story of a Nicaraguan Family,” the documentary centers on five brothers and sisters who commit themselves to work with the Sandinista revolutionary government and to contribute to the social changes in their professional and personal lives. In the best tradition of direct cinema, the film gives us the human dimension of everyday life, a sense of how people live in the midst of extraordinary difficulties and social transformation. Clearly there is understanding and trust between the filmmakers and their subjects, but the filmmakers remain objective and level-headed. They convey to the viewer the quiet heroism of proceeding with the daily routines of raising a family, treating the sick, feeding the hungry, and finding entertainment, laughter, and love in the midst of difficulties, strife, and scarcity. This documentary earned numerous international awards and serves as a preface to the larger and broader historical analysis that would come when the same team of filmmakers would once again focus on Nicaragua, ten years after the revolution, with their acclaimed featured documentary Pictures from a Revolution. Meiselas and Guzzetti are working on an update on the family, and a preview excerpt from that is likely be included in this program.