The Costa Rican film “El Camino” (“The Way”) premièred yesterday at the Berlinale Film Festival in Berlin.

Made by Tico-Chilean director Ishtar Yasir, the film tells the story of Saslaya, a Nicaraguan child, who, along with her brother, runs away from her grandfather, who has been sexually abusing her. The two children set off across the steppe, jungle and city in search of their mother, who had left them in the care of their grandfather years before.

The film strongly condemns the abuse suffered by thousands of Nicaraguan children, says Yasir, highlighting the “psychological trauma” suffered by victims, leading them “to fall continuously into the same vicious cycle.” Yasir also criticizes Costa Rica for being one of the countries of the world where sexual exploitation of children is most prevalent.

As the child of an Iraqi refugee and a Chilean exile, Yasir says she has always identified with “those who are obliged to abandon their homes for reasons beyond their control.” This raised her interest in the immigration of Nicaraguans to Costa Rica.

The film is dedicated to Nicaragua, as the majority of the filming took place there and nearly all the actors are Nicaraguans.

“El Camino” was shown in the “ International Forum of New Cinema ” section of the festival, which is considered to be the Berlinale's most experimental section. According to the festival Web site, “The Forum is a chance to discover highly original, often provocative and disturbing cinema.”