Documentary: Tapestries of Light, Life and Community in Guatemala

In June 2024 Nobel Women’s Initiative in collaboration with Just Associates (JASS) and the Rigoberta Menchú Tum Foundation hosted a delegation to Guatemala let by Nobel Peace Prize laureates Rigoberta Menchú Tum and Jody Williams. Tapestries of Light, Life and Community in Guatemala captures some of the inspiring stories of struggle, resilience and change shared during this delegation.

About the film

Across Mesoamerica, extractive industries have a history of abusing power, violating human rights, and decimating natural habitats and indigenous land. For too long a culture of violence, corruption, and repression largely directed at women, indigenous people and marginalized groups has been allowed to prosper by corrupt governments.

In January 2024, a window of opportunity and hope for significant change opened in Guatemala. In August 2023 Guatemalans elected anti-corruption candidate Bernardo Arévalo as their president. Despite months of attempts by the incumbents to invalidate the election and prevent the president-elect from taking office, and thanks to continued resistance by people’s movements led in particular by indigenous and women’s groups including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Rigoberta Menchú Tum, he was sworn in on 15 January 2024.

Nobel Peace Prize laureates visited Guatemala in June 2024, only a few months after the new government took office. Through the delegation they engaged with the new leadership of the country, brought voices of local women’s organizations to the table of the new political leaders, addressed key priorities of historically marginalized people, and offered support and advice for achieving sustainable change.

In this 20-minute film, Tapestries of Light, Life and Community in Guatemala, award winning feminist filmmaker, Paula Recinos, weaves together Guatemalan feminist activism, art and inspiration through the voices of six brave women. This film shines a light on a few of the activists we met - Milvia, Magda, Virginia, Jimena, Francis and Maya- whose courage, wisdom and the power of their community ensures indigenous weavers, artists, prosecutors, and grandmother midwives' knowledge and creativity continues to source hope at a time of political change and opportunity in Guatemala. Be ready to be inspired.

The film was commissioned by Nobel Women’s Initiative, in collaboration with JASS Just Associates, and supported by Global Affairs Canada.

Resources

Tapestries of Light, Life and Community in Guatemala shares stories of six activists and three community organizations fighting for natural habitats, cultural heritage, and equal rights within a system of entrenched inequality and decades of corruption. Support their efforts by sharing the film with your network, or hosting a screening!

Find resources which you can use to host a screening here.

For any enquiries about the film, including screenings, contact [email protected]

SCREENINGS

March 09 and 28, 2025. Screening was done at National Movement of Weavers.
April 10,2025.The documentary was featured by the media outlet Community Press (Prensa Comunitaria).
The film will be screened at La Revuelta Arte Screening & roundtable in Guatemala at 6:30 PM.
May 07,2025. 5th Audiovisual Gathering: Weaving Biocultural Networks (V Encuentro Audiovisual: Tejiendo Redes Bioculturales) at 10:30 AM.
May 14, 2025. The film was screened at Spanish Cultural Center in Guatemala at 7:00 PM.
May 16, 2025. The film was screened at the Training Center of Spanish Cooperation in La Antigua, Guatemala (Centro de Formación de la Cooperación Española en La Antigua, Guatemala) at 7:00 PM.
May 19, 2025. The film was screened at Commemorative Event for the National Day of Guatemalan Midwives (Evento de Conmemoración del Día Nacional de la Comadrona Guatemalteca)
May 23, 2025. Film was screened at Intercultural Park of Quetzaltenango, Guatemala (Parque Intercultural de Quetzaltenango, Guatemala) at 7:00 PM.
May 25, 2025. The film was screened at Quartair Contemporary Art Initiatives, The Hague, The Netherlands.
June 05, 2025. The film was screened at the 8th International Book Fair in Xela (8ª Feria Internacional del Libro en Xela) at 6:00 PM.
June 05, 2025. The film was screened at Spanish Cultural Center | La Paz, Bolivia AT 7:00 PM.
June 12, 2025. “Women Weavers” Event at the Spanish Cultural Center in Costa Rica at 6:00 PM.
June 17, 2025. The documentary was screened in a private session for mentors and later shared with their community women’s groups at Community Studies and Psychosocial Action Team (Equipo de Estudios Comunitarios y Acción Psicosocial, ECAP) | Guatemala.
July 1, 2025. The film screening and round table took place, organized by the Association of Women of Guatemala (Asociación de Mujeres de Guatemala). Guatemalan artist and activist Rebeca Lane joined the roundtable discussion at La Casa Encendida | Madrid, Spain at 6.30 PM.
July 1, 2025. The film was screened during their Political School for Women Leaders workshop at Centre for International Studies and Cooperation, CECI | Guatemala.
July 17, 2025. The film screening and round table took place, organized by Nobel Women’s Initiative in collaboration with the Embassy of Guatemala in Mexico and JASS Mesoamérica. Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Dr. Rigoberta Menchú Tum and the Honorable Ambassador Edgar Gutiérrez delivered the opening remarks at Rosario Castellanos Bookstore | Mexico City, Mexico at 07:00 PM
August 13, 2025. The film screening and round table took place at the event “Human Rights of Indigenous Women at University Institute for Women of the San Carlos University (Instituto Universitario de la Mujer de la Universidad de San Carlos) | Guatemala at 10.00 AM.
August 2025. Women’s Justice Initiative (Iniciativa de los Derechos de la Mujer). (This will be an internal screening with members of the organization)
September 4-7, 2025. The film was screened at Bucharest Feminist Film Festival - Bucharest, Romania.
October 22-24, 2025. The film was screened at 3rd Textiles of the Americas Gathering.
October 25, 2025. The documentary was screened at the “Anti-Congress on Sexualities”, organized by Maka Collective of Feminist and Gender Psychosocial Studies in Mexico. La Revuelta participated in the discussion.
November 20, 2025. The documentary was part of the seminar “The Textile as Archive,” a workshop focused on the interventions and journeys of textiles across Latin America.
November 26, 2025. The documentary was screened at the Autonomous University of Querétaro (UAQ), Faculty of Languages and Literature, as part of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. La Revuelta participated in the discussion.
March 2026. The documentary will be screened at Santa Rosa Film Club as part of International Women’s Day programming in Mexico.
Idealist published a blog article about the documentary, which was included in their Newsletter, and shared via email alerts, Facebook, and LinkedIn, reaching approximately 80K followers across Latin America and Spain.
Exhibition: "Coloured Connection, from Maya Textile to Multimedia Art"
Ixchel Museum of Indigenous Gown.
Ícaro International Film Festival in Guatemala.
Women’s Voices Now (womensvoicesnow.org)
Urgent Action Fund for Latin America & the Caribbean - The film has been shared on the Facebook page with more than 20k followers.
Latin American Bureau - London, United Kingdom - The film has been included in their programme of short films about women's resistance.

FILM FESTIVALS

Taraba Human Rights Film Festival (TAHRIFF) 2025 Edition.
Rivers International Film Festival in Nigeria (October 31–November 2, 2025).
Violeta Film Fest 2025 | Colombia, Argentina and France (The film will be part of the official selection of the festival)
- November 24 to 28, 2025 in Colombia
- November 25 to 27, 2025 in Argentina
- December 5 to 7, 2025 in France

Spanish Version

Tejidos de luz, vida y comunidad en Guatemala

En junio de 2024, la Iniciativa de Mujeres Premio Nobel, en colaboración con Asociadas por lo Justo (JASS) y la Fundación Rigoberta Menchú Tum, llevaron a cabo una delegación a Guatemala encabezada por las laureadas Premio Nobel de la Paz Rigoberta Menchú Tum y Jody Williams.

Tejidos de luz, vida y comunidad en Guatemala captura algunas de las inspiradoras historias de lucha, resiliencia y transformación que fueron compartidas durante esta delegación.

En toda Mesoamérica, las industrias extractivas tienen una historia de abuso de poder, violación de los derechos humanos y diezmación de hábitats naturales y territorios indígenas. Durante años, los gobiernos corruptos han permitido que prospere una cultura de violencia, corrupción y represión dirigida principalmente contra las mujeres, los pueblos indígenas y los grupos marginados.

En enero de 2024, se abrió una ventana de oportunidad y esperanza para un cambio significativo en Guatemala. En agosto de 2023, los guatemaltecos eligieron al candidato anticorrupción Bernardo Arévalo como su presidente. A pesar de meses de intentos de representantes del antiguo gobierno para invalidar las elecciones e impedir que el presidente electo asumiera el cargo, y gracias a la resistencia constante de los movimientos populares encabezados en particular por grupos indígenas y de mujeres, incluída la Premio Nobel de la Paz Rigoberta Menchú Tum, Arévalo asumió la presidencia el 15 de enero de 2024.

Las lauredas premios Nobel de la Paz visitaron Guatemala en junio de 2024, solo unos meses después de que el nuevo gobierno asumiera el cargo. A través de la delegación, interactuaron con los nuevos líderes del país, llevaron las voces de distintas organizaciones de mujeres locales a la mesa de los nuevos líderes políticos, abordaron las prioridades clave de las personas históricamente marginadas y ofrecieron apoyo y asesoramiento para lograr un cambio sostenible.

En este cortometraje documental de 20 minutos, la premiada cineasta feminista Paula Recinos entrelaza el activismo feminista, el arte y la inspiración guatemaltecas a través de las voces de seis valientes mujeres. En junio de 2024, las laureadas Premio Nobel de la Paz Jody Williams y Rigoberta Menchú Tum se reunieron con cientos de líderes indígenas, defensoras de la tierra y el territorio y activistas feministas en Guatemala. Compartieron sus historias, sus luchas y su esperanza de una "vida en plenitud". Este cortometraje documental arroja luz sobre algunas de las activistas que conocimos: Milvia, Magda, Virginia, Jimena, Francis y Maya, cuyo coraje, sabiduría y el poder de su comunidad garantizan que el conocimiento y la creatividad de las tejedoras, artistas, defensoras públicas y abuelas parteras indígenas sigan siendo fuente de esperanza en un momento de cambio político y oportunidades en Guatemala.

Este cortometraje documental fue comisionado por la Iniciativa de Mujeres Premio Nobel, en colaboración con JASS Asociadas por lo justo, y con el apoyo de Global Affairs Canada.

Para cualquier consulta sobre la película, incluidas las proyecciones, ponte en contacto con [email protected]

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Dispatches from Shirin Ebadi on the Iran Revolution

Dispatches from Dr. Shirin Ebadi brings together translated reflections from the Nobel Peace Laureate on developments in Iran in 2026, sharing her personal insights during a critical moment in the struggle for rights, justice, and democracy.

April 7, 2026 Update

Iran is in an extremely dire situation. Trump has stated that if the strait is not reopened by Wednesday, he will order the bombing and shutdown of critical infrastructure and power plants. The people of Iran are left standing defenseless in the midst of this war.

On one side, the Islamic Republic suppresses even the slightest opposition to the war, arresting and executing individuals under accusations of espionage and treason. Prisons are overcrowded with those who oppose its policies, and in just the past week, Iran has executed 4 prisoners.

On the other side, the war itself continues to take innocent lives without pause. If power plants and vital infrastructure are also targeted, the consequences for ordinary people are unimaginable.

Tragically, in response to the bombings, the Islamic Republic has reportedly launched attacks on neighboring countries such as the UAE, Bahrain, and Kuwait, further escalating and complicating the crisis.

Shirin Ebadi

April 7, 2026

April 4, 2026 Update

For more than a month, Iran has been trapped in a devastating war, a war that the Iranian people neither started nor asked for. Yesterday, Donald Trump, in a threatening tone, said that he would send Iran “back to the Stone Age.”

But this must be said loudly and clearly: Iran is an ancient civilization, and it cannot be reduced to the Stone Age by threats or bombs. The Islamic Republic does not fear such a threat; it is the people of Iran who fear the destruction of their homes, cities, schools, hospitals, power plants, roads, internet access and daily bread.

Many opponents of the war are rightly calling on the United States and Israel to stop the attacks. I would add one clear sentence to this legitimate demand:

do not destroy civilian infrastructure or public assets.

So long as the military and political leaders of the regime, all of whom have played a role in the killing of the people, are being targeted, it may be seen as serving the interests of the people of Iran, and it can still be argued that the target is the machinery of repression and that such action is aimed at preventing further bloodshed. But infrastructure, including electricity, water, refineries, roads, airports, communications networks, and everything on which people’s daily lives depend, is not the property of the Islamic Republic. These are the assets of a nation. Destroying them means once again forcing the cost of war onto the very people who have already been its victims.

The Islamic Republic has been pushing Iran toward this abyss for years. Nearly half a century of poverty, repression, enemy-making, adventurism, and killing, and most recently the mass killing of innocent people in the streets, has shown that this regime will commit any crime for the sake of its own survival and the export of its revolution. And if Iran’s infrastructure is destroyed today, it is not the Islamic Republic that will pay the highest price. It is the Iranian child who sleeps in darkness. It is the Iranian patient who is left without electricity and medicine. It is the Iranian worker, teacher and retiree who will have to rebuild the ruins with empty pockets.

Iran does not belong to the Islamic Republic, to be set on fire whenever it chooses and handed over as “scorched earth.” Iran belongs to the people of Iran.

And Iran’s rich civilization will never be sent back to the Stone Age, neither by Trump’s threats nor by the obstinacy of the Islamic Republic. Do not help the Islamic Republic destroy Iran. If you truly stand with the people of Iran, then stop taking civilian lives and destroying the foundations of people’s daily existence. This nation has paid more than enough.

Shirin Ebadi

April 4, 2026

January 13, 2026 Update

This letter is being drafted at a time when, over the past sixteen days, the Islamic Republic has killed at least “12,000” protesters in various cities across Iran and has turned the country’s streets into a bloodbath. It has also been nearly 110 hours since the complete shutdown of the internet in Iran and the severing of landline and mobile communications.

The Islamic Republic has deliberately turned the country into a “dark room.” What is happening in Iran today is not merely an internal crisis; it is a human rights emergency in which the disruption of communications has enabled killing, abduction, torture, and organized concealment.

The December 2025 protests must be seen as part of a trajectory that began years ago and intensified in the autumn of 2022. Following the bloody suppression of the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement, arrests, torture, security case-building, and executions increased to an unprecedented degree. For a large segment of society, execution was no longer merely a judicial punishment; it became a tool for instilling political fear. Against this backdrop of escalating repression, the economic crisis also deepened and exhausted the people’s last capacity for subsistence resistance.

The spark for the recent protests was the cost-of-living crisis. The collapse of the national currency reached new records, and the market reacted accordingly. In the last days of December 2025, the price of the U.S. dollar in the open market approached 150,000 tomans, and this currency shock pushed public fear of a new wave of inflation and a collapse in purchasing power to its peak. The protests began in Tehran’s bazaar, through closures, initial gatherings, and slogans that at first had an economic character. But this stage was very brief. The protests quickly became widespread and shifted from economic slogans to political, anti-government slogans.

In the first days, the government tried to present an image of control while appearing responsive. It was said that the protests were “recognized,” and at the same time certain propaganda and economic measures were floated, including subsidy and ration-coupon plans, and replacing the head of the Central Bank. But repression continued in the streets.

As the protests spread, their scope went beyond Tehran and reached more than 110 cities. In some smaller towns, people responded to repression by moving toward government centers and facilities, and in some cases they freed them for a few hours. Strikes also intensified, especially since last Thursday, and effectively affected parts of the economic and administrative cycle. The government’s response was to move toward a “total communications blackout.” From Thursday night, January 18, the internet was cut on a wide scale, and in many cases even the possibility of phone calls into Iran disappeared. This shutdown is not merely a technical disruption; it is a political decision to cut the people off from the world and to cut witnesses off from victims.

Under these conditions, the repression entered a new phase. A shocking example is what occurred in a small county in western Iran with a population of fewer than 60,000, where it clearly became evident that repression moved from dispersal to killing, and protesters were killed with semi-heavy weapons, including DShK machine guns. The message of this kind of approach is clear: the government is prepared to impose a very heavy human cost to end the protests.

Repression did not remain confined to the streets. One of the most dangerous and inhumane dimensions of this crisis has been attacks on hospitals and the abduction of the bodies of the deceased and of the wounded.

Based on credible information I received yesterday, at least 600 eye enucleations were performed at Farabi Hospital in Tehran. In a small hospital, 24 wounded people died, and at dawn security forces removed bodies from the hospital morgue, loading them onto a pickup truck. The same source also reports a severe crisis in Shiraz and across Fars Province. At Khodadoust Hospital in Shiraz, at least 300 eye enucleations are said to have been performed, and hospitals are facing blood shortages. Throughout these days, the internet has been completely cut off and channels for reporting and emergency assistance have been deliberately pushed into darkness.

Given the internet shutdown and telephone disruption, stating the exact number of victims at this moment is difficult. Nevertheless, credible information has reached me that the Islamic Republic has killed at least “12,000” protesters in various cities across Iran. On January 8 alone, there were 250 bodies in Tehran at just one forensic medicine center. If this is not mass killing, then what is it?

This is why international intervention at this juncture is necessary. When the Islamic Republic cuts the people’s communication with the world, it does not only suppress freedom of expression; it effectively removes “global oversight” and leaves itself freer to employ violence. This is precisely the moment when the international community must, through effective instruments, close the information gap and raise the cost of repression.

The United States can play a decisive role at this stage. When the Islamic Republic has severed the people’s connection with the world, verbal condemnation alone is not enough. Practical action must be taken so that people can communicate again, witnesses can testify, and the repression machine cannot operate in darkness.

Within this framework, the U.S. government can place a set of urgent, practical measures—low-risk in terms of human casualties, on its agenda:

First, real support for the Iranian people’s right to access communications. If the government cuts the internet and telephony, the international community must strengthen alternative access, reduce technical and legal barriers to secure communications tools, and apply clear and sustained political pressure for the restoration of communications. Cutting communications is part of the repression operation and must be recognized and pursued as an illegal act and a violation of fundamental rights.

Second, neutralizing the propaganda machine. Now that people have been cut off from the world, the Islamic Republic’s propaganda apparatus is constructing false narratives to justify the killing. We emphasize: without causing loss of life, the Islamic Republic’s propaganda apparatus can be rendered ineffective; Causing damage to broadcasting towers could be an option.

Third, liquidation or arrest of Ali Khamenei.In Iran, the chain of command for repression and major decisions undoubtedly reaches the apex of power. Ali Khamenei, the 88-year-old leader of the Islamic Republic, is regarded by a large segment of the Iranian people as directly responsible for these atrocities; because systematic repression, the policy of executions, and the securitization of social life are inconceivable without his will and order. His removal or arrest, as in the past cases of Ismail Haniyeh or Nicolas Maduro, is the demand of all Iranian people. Eliminating Ali Khamenei by any means possible will not lead to any discomfort for any Iranian people.

Our goal is not war. Our goal is to prevent killing and to restore the right to life, the right to security, the right to treatment, the right to communication, and the right to seek justice to the people of Iran. If the world watches today, tomorrow it will face dimensions of catastrophe that may no longer be reversible. The Islamic Republic has shown, by cutting the internet and telephony, that it intends to act in darkness. The duty of the international community is to illuminate this darkness.

Shirin Ebadi

January 13, 2026

January 9, 2026 Update

Tonight, I am compelled to speak with urgency. There are credible indications that the Islamic Republic may attempt to turn this night into a massacre, under cover of a sweeping communications blackout.

Iranians have come into the streets peacefully. They have been met with gunfire. This is not new. For forty-seven years, the Islamic Republic has answered citizens’ demands with bullets, prisons, torture, and mourning.

What makes tonight especially dangerous is the deliberate darkness: internet and phone networks pushed toward collapse so that families cannot find their loved ones, journalists cannot document, and the world cannot witness. A blackout is not a technical failure in Iran; It is a tactic.

I have been informed that last night, in Tehran alone, hundreds of people, reportedly at least 400, were taken to a single hospital with severe eye injuries caused by pellet gun fire. Even more alarming are reports that security forces attacked hospitals and tried to arrest the wounded. A state that hunts the injured in hospital corridors has crossed a line that no society should accept and no world should ignore.

Some still insist on romantic myths about this regime, treating it as a defender of the oppressed abroad. But a government that shoots peaceful protesters and violates medical neutrality at home cannot claim moral authority anywhere. The Islamic Republic has made cruelty a governing method. It is an enemy of human dignity, and its record points to crimes against humanity.

To Western governments and international institutions: silence is not prudence. It is permission. Your inaction lowers the cost of murder.

I call on you, tonight, to speak publicly and act decisively: demand an end to live fire against civilians, insist on the protection of hospitals and medical staff, and press for the immediate restoration of communications. Support urgent international monitoring and accountability measures. Do not wait for the morning’s body count to find your voice.

Stand with Iran’s freedom-seeking people now, when they are being pushed into the dark.

Shirin Ebadi

January 9, 2026

Documentary: Tapestries of Light, Life and Community in Guatemala

About the film

Resources

SCREENINGS

FILM FESTIVALS

Spanish Version

Tejidos de luz, vida y comunidad en Guatemala

Dispatches from Shirin Ebadi on the Iran Revolution

Nobel Women's Initiative

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About the film

Resources

SCREENINGS

FILM FESTIVALS

Spanish Version

Tejidos de luz, vida y comunidad en Guatemala

Contact Information

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