Karla's Arrival

Directed by: Koen Suidgeest Produced by: Emily Lobsenz, Koen Suidgeest Released: 2012 Running Time: 88 min Subjects: Children, Youth & Family, Women's Studies KARLA'S ARRIVAL follows 19-year old Sujeylin Aguilar and her baby Karla, who live as part of a group of kids in a small park in Managua, Nicaragua, as they struggle through the first year of the child's life. Months before the birth, Sujeylin is still a glue addict who lives off the generosity of her drug-dealing boyfriend and the NGOs peppering the city. She doesn't expect the arrival of her baby to change her own life considerably. She simply plans to raise her in the park where she has been living with the group of colorful characters she considers her only family. She never imagined the scope of the challenges and dangers she and her young daughter would face. Sujeylin kicks her glue habit weeks before giving birth. Although she is strong, she is still vulnerable to picking up her old vices at the first difficulty she