Karla's Arrival
Karla's Arrival
Koen Suidgeest / Spain, Belgium, USA / 2011 / 90 min.
Karla is born by Caesarean section and travels straight from the maternity hospital in a cardboard box to her future home: a park in the Nicaraguan capital Managua. Her underage mother Sujeylin has run away from home, become a drug addict and ended up on the streets, where she meets Karla's father Juan Carlos. She quit drugs during her pregnancy, though Juan Carlos remained on them and is now incapable of looking after his partner or new baby. The couple have to contend with completely unsatisfactory hygienic conditions, while there is a constant possibility their child will be taken away from them. Sujeylin, therefore, returns to her parents, who are bringing up her first daughter Nasli. However, old wounds are reopened at home, reminding her of why she left years previously. Two months later, Sujeylin is back in the rundown park, facing two possible routes: to go back on drugs, or to find a way to take care of herself and Karla. Director Koen Suidgeest follows his protagonist from three months before her daughter's birth until the child's first birthday. With rare intimacy, he captures the journey of a young girl, who thanks to love for her daughter, is ready to change her life, even at the cost of giving up her own desires.