Fridae

This stunning first film by director Joshua Marston was screened
at various film festivals and it won a passel of awards including
Sundance's Audience Award and Berlin's Best Actress award for Catalina
Sandina Moreno.

Brutally honest and at times frightening, it tells the story of
Maria, a 17-year-old in Colombia who is desperate to escape poverty.
To make some quick money, she decides to become a drug smuggler,
swallowing two rubber pellets packed with heroin and subsequently
taking a flight to New York.

What is so amazing about this film is that it does not sentimentalise
the character of Maria. We know what she's doing is dead wrong,
yet we sympathise with her all the same. No doubt it is Catalina's
delicate performance that makes this possible.

As the film proceeds, we never quite know at first why Maria is
so "full of grace", but we see it eventually.