[youTubeVideo url=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqqoAzT4v78″ width=”680″ height=”413″]

Maria Full of Grace is a coming-of-age drama set in the world of Maria Alvarez. Maria is a teenager living in Bogot, Colombia supporting her large family by working in a flower plantation for a meager salary. After meeting a smooth-talking man she agrees to smuggle heroin into the United States in order to make some extra money and travel.

The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2004 as part of the dramatic competition and won the Audience Award while being nominated for the Grand Jury Prize. Catalina Sandino Moreno (Maria) was also nominated for Best Actress at the Academy Awards in 2005.

The film is currently at 97% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with 134 fresh reviews to 4 rotten and a consensus of:

“In a striking debut, Moreno carries the movie and puts a human face on the drug trade.”

See Maria Full of Grace at the PSU Theater on Wednesday, Sept. 21 and Sunday, Sept. 25 at 9 PM.