Jury Statement: "We join Maria on her tough journey that is also magical, poetic and yet realistic, hopeless but inspirational. At the end of the journey awaits possible enlightenment and strength that will take her and the child growing inside her to a new, different and promising future. Ruegles's humanistic touch, credibility and precision and his sweeping cinematic style led the jury to award his film the Carmel Award for best picture in the International Competition."
