English Born in Bogota, Colombia in 1981, Catalina Sandino Moreno became interested in theater and stage at an early age. In 1997, while still in high school, she enrolled in the Ruben Di Pietro theatre academy in Bogota. During her four years at the academy, she acted in such productions as "Acuerdo para Cambiar de Casa" by Griselda Gambaro, "The Dark Room" by Tennessee Wiliams, and "Laughing Wild" by Christopher Durand. After making her film debut in MARIA FULL OF GRACE, Moreno relocated to New York City, where she attended the Lee Starsberg Institute. She recently made her New York stage debut in the Frog & Peach Tehare Company's production of Shakespeare's "King John."

From the start, it's impossible not to like seventeen year old Maria Avarez (Catalina Sandino Moreno.) The opening shots of Joshua Marston's powerful first feature "Maria Full of Grace" quickly establish character. We see Maria, mind-numbingly bored, her fingers covered in Band-Aids, as she removes sharp thorns from flowers at her job at a rose plantation, and later, Maria with her boyfriend, still bored, as she breaks away to climb up to the roof of a two story abandoned house just to see the view. Maria is tough, independent, and intelligent. She is also strikingly pretty, and achingly, palpably, full of longing.

Long before Maria puts herself in the path of danger, she is someone we care and worry for. She lives in an overcrowded apartment. Her mother doesn't understand her. Her boyfriend certainly isn't worthy of her. After she quits at the flower factory, she needs to find a new job - and chances are there isn't anything better waiting for her. Worse, she is pregnant. Maria clearly wants so much from life, and so little seems possible. When Maria meets Franklin, who can get her a high paying gig as a drug mule, trafficking heroin from Colombia to the United States, the worry we feel for Maria positively skyrockets.

Through Maria's story, we learn what it means to be a drug mule. Like Stephen Friar's terrific "Dirty Pretty Things" about illegal immigrants in London who earn cash by giving up organs, Marston completely immerses us in a harrowing, alternate universe where young women without hope ingest sixty-two heavy rubber pellets filled with heroin and travel long distances to seedy unknown hotel rooms just to make their way in life.

The presentation of logistic details is never less than compelling; what once was an obscure concept becomes real. The stereotypical image of a Colombian drug dealer, a handsome Al Pacino type in a slick suit with a machine gun, has been replaced with the terrified faces of women. Not only Maria, but three other women are on her flight from Colombia to New York, her childlike friend Blanca, the seemingly more worldly Diana who says she is making one last run, and yet another woman whose name we never learn as she is taken from the custom's office in handcuffs.
"Maria Full of Grace" is a successful film because it connects on an emotional level. Wisely, Marston decided not to make an overt political statement. Instead, he focuses on the intimate details of one woman's story. Catalina Sandino Moreno, making her film debut as Maria, gives a moving performance that will stay with you.

Awards: Silver Bear for Best Actress at the 2004 Berline International Film Festival; Mejor Actriz (Best Actress) at the 2004 Cartagena Film Festival in Colombia.

How did you practice the pellet swallowing? I didn't practice. Why should I? I think it was more about [if I seemed like] a pro doing it, like okay, Josh, that’s it, it was not real. I think, especially for Josh, it was important to be real. And, for me, just coming in and seeing these pellets and trying to swallow them, I was like, “I'm not going to swallow that.” It's not easy. It was really hard, and that's the scene in the movie.”

Did you meet any drug mules in preparation? My preparation was going to a flower plantation, working for two weeks. I worked for two weeks there. Not dethorning roses, just cutting them. And Maria was born there. Maria just appeared. I never wanted to go and talk to mules because Maria doesn’t know how to be a mule. And I didn’t either, so I was just relying on Josh how to do it. I didn’t want to have another concept in my mind.

What were the pellets made out of? If Josh didn’t say, I’m not going to say either. He will kill me if I say it.

What was your acting training? I was studying theater. When I was 13 years old, I began studying theater. Then I was studying advertising, but I've always studied theater. I was very shy and I'm like, “Okay, I'm going to just jump into theater.” That was my background in acting. I'd never done anything professionally in Colombia. To make this character was a challenge, because I've never done anything like that. Maria was very different from who I am. I don’t live in a little town. I was in college and I didn't have to work because I needed money. I was blessed because I had a different life than her. And for me, it was a challenge to do it. Thanks to Josh and thanks to all of the actors, they made my work much easier.

How did you feel about getting in front of a camera? The good thing with that, in this movie, the camera was hand held. And Josh told me that whenever you feel that Maria needs to walk, just walk. The camera's going to follow you, because he just wanted to feel what Maria was feeling. And it was much easier for me [to say], “You know what, Maria should just stand up.” Whatever I wanted and whatever Josh approved, I just did it. It was easier. It was like theater.

What prompted you to audition for the film? Curiosity. I was curious to meet this American that was looking for a Colombian girl. I'd gone to a couple of auditions in Colombia and they never chose me, so to hear there's an American looking for a Colombian, I really needed to see who he was and what this movie was about. I read for Blanca the first time and the casting director saw me and said, “You should just read for Maria, just to show the director.” And I read for Maria and a couple of weeks later, they called me and said that Josh was coming to Colombia to see a couple of girls and that I was in the three top girls.

Did you ever correct Josh on his perceptions about Colombia? Not in terms of details, because as I told you, there were more details that Josh knew that I didn’t. There were more words and for him being an American, he had to really rely on us to change the script and to do a lot of improvisations from the script. We never changed the structure of the film but we changed the script I think 100 %. What did he nail just right? The pellet. I didn’t know how the pellet was made. I didn’t know that they cut the fingers of the surgical glove. You live in Colombia, you know about mules and you know that they are there, but you don’t know the details. You don’t know why they do it. You just know that they are there and bad people and they’re in jail and they deserve it.

But now, you just see what it is like to be a mule. So, he was incredible. Did you ever worry this reflected your country in a poor light? I read the script and I was so proud that an American was not stereotyping Colombia. He never showed a gun. He never showed, like, bloody Maria's face. He never did those types of things, and for me it was incredible.

What are the stereotypes we have about Colombia? That we just kill each other. That’s not just it. There's more about Colombia and what Josh did was an incredible, incredible job and I'm so proud that he did it. That's why a lot of Colombians are so grateful with him, because he just put his eyes on Colombia and he just made this incredible movie. And everybody in Colombia liked it. And they’re very proud that somebody really put Colombians as they are.

Does the film say the way to get out is to come to the U.S.? Not just Colombians. Like in America, there’s people from every part of the world. And not just in my country that they think that the American dream is in America. Of course, we heard about the American dream and if you go to America you’re going to have a great life and you’re going to be a millionaire and you’re going to just have a lot of kids and you’re going to be happy. But when you get there and you go to Jackson Heights especially where all of the Colombian community is, you’ll see their reality. And it’s very hard for them to just deal with work every single day. If you don’t have papers, you have to work illegally and if you’re caught, it’s very hard, and I don't think [it’s] just Colombians. If Colombians see the movie, it’s not “Oh my God, maybe I’ll go to America.” I know that it’s not going to change people’s life. Nothing can change people’s life. Just decisions. And if somebody sees this movie, it just gets in the back of their mind how is this done? But they’re people. They’re not just mules. I know they’re just good people and this can happen to anybody. If you have an intestine, you can do it.

How has your life changed since making this movie? Well, I’m making this press thing. I’ve never done it, so it’s changed a lot. Now I’m living in New York. I have an agent. It changed a lot. I’m alone in New York and living by myself. So everything has changed. I have to be independent and I feel like Maria. In Colombia, it’s a slower process to grow up, just live with your family for 20-something years. Then you finish college. Then you get to work, then you get married and then you go. But here, I’m growing up faster and that’s good. I’m learning a lot of things that I should have learned [when I was younger].

Will you continue doing films? I'm not going to jump in another project so fast. I think I'm going to finish Maria's cycle of being in the editing, of being in the sound room. I think it is so incredible how they do movies. I think, when I do another movie, I won't be next to the director in the sound room, to see how they mix the sound, or to be in the editing room. So, I think being so involved in this movie, it's so personal, that I just want to end this cycle. I just want my head in one place. I don't want to think about another project, but I'm reading. I'm reading a lot. I’m reading what’s out there, what’s waiting for me. But I’m just taking it really easy.

Is your family still in Colombia? Yes.
Do they plan to come over, or do you send money home to help them? I don’t send money to my family, but what Carla says in the movie, it’s real. She just took the phone and she heard the grandma in the back of the room and like they’re asking how is life there? It happened to me. My mother had been to New York with my brother and when I talk to my father, it’s like, “Oh, I don’t want to talk to you because tears come in my eyes.” To be here alone, it’s very hard. Especially for Colombians. I don't know for Latin America, but Colombians, we’re very close. That’s why Jackson Heights is full of Colombians because they’re all there and they really like being near them. It’s true.

Is there temptation to go back, or get them to come here?

Have you ever been stopped by customs like Maria is in the film? I was studying in New York. I had to go back to Colombia to get my student visa and so, I was coming back to New York, and they stopped me. And it is a very weird feeling when you just put your feet in America coming from a Colombian flight. They're waiting for you, they're there. Their eyes are wide open, and you feel like you did something bad, even though you haven't done anything, but you're there with your bag, just waiting for them to stop you. And when they stopped me, I'm like, “Okay, I know I have to be calm.” But of course I wasn't calm, I was crazy. My heart rate was 1,000 and my hands were shaking. Of course, they saw, I was so nervous that they stopped me more and they were keeping me asking questions. I remember, at a point, I was thinking, “Okay, I have to be calm,” because I know they might put me in a little room. But it was so weird. I was, like, acting to be calm and I was not calm. And of course they knew it.

Did they believe you were doing a movie? I didn’t tell them. I was so crazy. I just wanted to get out of there. It was a horrible experience. They padded me, they took my wallet. They were, like, “How much money do you have?” I was, like, “Oh, my God, hopefully I didn't spend ten dollars.” I was trying to get the amount really close to the amount that was in my wallet. “So, like $200?” And they counted it. It was very crazy. At a point I was very mad, I was like, “I’m just a student” And I cried. It was a horrible, horrible scene.

Did they ask you these suspicious questions? Yeah. I have a work visa, I have a student visa, I have a visiting permit. So I have three visas in my passport. They’re like, “Now, you’re a student? Hmm.” And I’m like, “Oh my God, I’m just going to die here. I’m just going to die.” And they keep saying, “Have you visited New York before on the work visa?” They tried to make me fail. And of course I failed I think 1000 times, asking those questions, responding to those questions. At the last part, I was really mad. I cried. I’m like, “You know what? I shouldn’t be here. I’m a guest in your country. I’m a student making a movie.” Of course I sound like a crazy person. So of course they didn’t believe me, but they were so sick that I was crying and they made people look at me, I don't know why they let me go.

What did the director say when you told him about that? He just laughed. He was like, “Oh my God, that’s so funny.” Of course, Maria would have been caught. Thank God she was more brave. He was laughing. “Oh, so you experienced that.” It was not funny at all. It was not funny for me.

How did you learn such good English? Oh, thank you. In school. I went to a British school in Colombia. I studied for 14 years there. Not English, just high school. You’re lucky that I’m speaking good English. Sometimes I just get out of my bed and I just need to speak Spanish.

Will you do a role in English? I really want to do my next role in Spanish. I'm just waiting for the role. I don’t want to jump so fast. I'm very proud to be Latin, I'm very proud to be Colombian and, to me, it's very important to just keep with that.

From World Independent Film

Maria Full of Grace

Wasting away in a Colombian flower sweatshop, 17 year-old Maria (Catalina Sandino Moreno) is tired of her work, her family, and the unresponsiveness of her boyfriend. When she learns that she's pregnant, Maria discovers a quick, but dangerous, way to make big bucks: to volunteer herself as a drug mule. Asked to ingest small heroin pellets and fly to New York for retrieval, Maria agrees, but soon realizes just how hazardous the mission can be.

Last year, Lukas Moodysson's `Lilya 4-Ever' was a powerful portrait of the potential hell found when a teenage girl starts to blindly trust. It was a stark, horrific, and riveting film. The same can be said of Joshua Marston's `Maria Full of Grace.' While it doesn't follow the sexual exploitation route of `Lilya,' it moves on to another experience that is shared by many unfortunate souls across the world: that of an intestinal drug courier.

Marston doesn't fool around with `Maria.' There's little unnecessary dramatic padding to the story, very little preaching, and he's wise enough to allow the natural horror of the circumstances these characters find themselves in to command the way. It's a cautious, yet unforced, directing job by Marston, but he doesn't need to do much. Not only is the film a harrowing portrait of lamentable decisions, it also appeals to that `Fear Factor' urge to stare at disbelief at what some people do to their bodies. Those with touchy gag reflexes should consider a bathroom break during the scene where Maria attempts to ingest her heroin pellets, ending up with over 60 capsules of death in her belly, right before she boards an endless, traumatic fight to New York City. It's a tremendous sequence that supplies enough tension and mouth-agape amazement for two movies.

Once the tale switches over to New York, `Maria' slips away from horror mode and begins to dig into the cold reality of what Colombian immigrants face in America. Selling the role with sublime control is actress Catalina Sandino Moreno, who makes her film debut with `Maria.' The character requires a burning interior monologue that the audience is never privy to, and Moreno communicates that frustration and dread with frightening accuracy, never succumbing to self-pity, for Maria is not an innocent character. Maria is head strong, and she's chosen this life, not forced into it. Moreno and Marston are wise to keep the material away from uncomplicated sympathy grabs. It's a wonderful performance and an outstanding film. ------ 9/10

Spanish CATALINA SANDINO MORENO - ACTRIZ COLOMBIANA NOMINADA AL OSCAR DE LA ACADEMIA

Titulo Original: María, llena eres de gracia

Año: 2004
Duración: 101 min
País: Colombia
Director: Joshua Marston
Guión: Joshua Marston
Música: Jacobo Lieberman & Leonardo Heiblum
Fotografía: Jim Denault
Reparto: Catalina Sandino Moreno, Yenny Paola Vega, Guilied López
Productora: Coproducción Colombia-USA

Género Crítica 2003: Berlín: Mejor actriz (ex-aequo): Catalina Sandino Moreno. 2004: Deauville: Gran Premio, Premio del Público, Premio de la Crítica Internacional. Berlín:Silver Bear for Best Actress at the 2004 Berline International Film Festival; Cartagena: Mejor Actriz (Best Actress) at the 2004 Cartagena Film Festival in Colombia; Los Angeles: nominada al Premio Oscar de la Academia el pasado martes 25 de Enero como mejor actríz femenina en un papel protagónico.

Sinopsis: La joven de 17 años María vive en una pequeña población al norte de Bogotá. Comparte casa con su madre, su abuela, su hermana y el pequeño hijo de ésta. María trabaja en una gran plantación de rosas, donde preparan y empaquetan las flores. María y Blanca, su mejor amiga, son las encargadas de retirar las espinas de los tallos y preparar las flores para la exportación. Es una tarea dura y deben seguir reglas muy estrictas. La única distracción de María son los bailes en la plaza del mercado a los que va los fines de semana con su novio Juan. María es muy impulsiva. Un día, después de discutir con uno de sus jefes, se despide del trabajo. Su familia no entiende por qué ha dejado el trabajo, nadie sospecha que María está embarazada.

Decide probar suerte en la ciudad. Durante el viaje, se topa con Franklin, al que ya conocía. Es un joven acostumbrado al mundo y cuya seguridad impresiona mucho a María. Le habla de un empleo como correo. María entiende enseguida que se trata de pasar drogas a Estados Unidos, tragando paquetitos de heroína. Ganará 5.000 dólares en un viaje. Eso basta para convencerla. Lucy ya ha hecho el viaje dos veces con éxito y enseña a María cómo prepararse físicamente y también lo que debe hacer si las cosas salen mal. Blanca no tarda en ser reclutada por los vendedores. Unos días más tarde, las dos amigas suben a un avión con destino a Estados Unidos, María lleva 62 paquetitos de heroína en el estómago. (FILMAFFINITY)

"Una historia durísima, hecha a pie de precipicio (...) Se ve y se oye magníficamente, tiene verosimilitud y al tiempo calidad técnica, tiene fragor narrativo y va directamente al grano supurante de la historia (...) la gran sorpresa: su protagonista femenina" (E. Rogríguez Marchante: Diario ABC)

"Muy buena. (...) Una película contada con toda la sencillez imaginable, pero también con toda la eficacia y minuciosidad posibles (...) perfecto equilibrio entre los resortes melodramáticos y la autoexigencia realista que impregna el relato de principio a fin." (Alberto Bermejo: Diario El Mundo)