Eleven-year-old petty criminal Maroa lives with her violent grandmother Brigida in Caracas. After her boyfriend Carlos is involved in a shooting, Maroa is arrested and sent to a school where Joaquin conducts the youth orchestra, and he asks the naturally talented Maroa to join. Days now revolve around the classes that Joaquin, the shy and unconventional teacher, gives her. He is immediately interested in this talented young girl, who lacks all notion of discipline. Joaquin, the only person to offer hope in the midst of her rejection, finds that through Maroa, his world has also changed forever.
Acting
Yorlis Domínguez's raw, untrained ferocity
Direction
Hoogesteijn's unflinching Caracas verité
Score
Mozart colliding with street noise—devastating contrast
Director
Solveig Hoogesteijn
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Based on real Venezuelan youth orchestras (El Sistema), which Gustavo Dudamel emerged from—though the film exposes the system's cracks, not its PR.
Yorlis Domínguez was a non-actor discovered in a Caracas slum; her real grandmother initially refused permission, fearing exploitation.
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