Impressions Gallery

Be Moved by Maria Full of Grace, a poweful story of determination and survival set in present day Colombia.

Film Screening at the National Media Museum, Bradford.

Maria Full of Grace has won an exceptional number of awards from festivals and critics around the world. Joshua Marston’s debut as director is very assured and Catalina Sandino Moreno as Maria holds the viewer with both her beauty and delicate performance.

In a small town in Columbia, 17-year-old Maria works in a factory putting together floral displays. It is clearly tedious and back-breaking work, but the conditions are worse. When she is not allowed a comfort break, she walks out. Under pressure from her mother to earn, she drifts towards the drugs trade and decides to be a ‘mule’ for the local cartel, taking cocaine to New York. It is at this point that the film really grips, taking on a style similar to Robert Bresson, as the meticulous details of swallowing condoms of drugs is depicted. Each mule can carry up to 60 pellets depending on their size. Having learnt her trade, she is off to New York.

Maria Full of Grace should be seen to understand the reasons people fall into the drugs trade or how evil it really is. Marston’s skill is to make it utterly watchable and matter-of-fact.

‘Sharply researched and as taut as tightrope; social-realism in the guise of a white- knuckle thriller.’ – The Guardian


Film times and booking information

Tuesday, 15 Jan - 3.30pm
Cubby Broccoli Cinema
£3.50/2.50

Tue, 15 Jan - 8.30pm
Cubby Broccoli Cinema
£5.00/3.30

Wed, 16 Jan - 5.45pm
Cubby Broccoli Cinema
£5.00/3.30

For further information and to book please visit www.nationalmediamuseum.org.uk or call the box office on 0870 70 10 200