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On the Invention of Species

View on the Pragda STREAM site

Twelve-year-old Carla arrives in the Galápagos with her father, a biologist who studies the conservation of endangered species. Still grieving the death of her older brother, Carla has lost her ability to express herself through words. While her father attends a conference on species conservation and evolution, she begins to explore the island on her own, adopting a new identity: Isla.

Over seven days, Carla encounters Wiki, a boy her age, and Darwin, a local teenager, and together they venture into the landscapes and stories of the Galápagos. She also meets Harriet, a mysterious healer who understands the power of storytelling and words to help us make sense of the world. As Carla moves between friendship, imagination, science, and the natural environment around her, the islands become a space where she can confront her grief and begin to understand her own transformation.

Tania Hermida's lyrical coming-of-age film weaves together Darwin's theory of evolution, the biblical story of Genesis, and the storytelling traditions of "The Thousand and One Nights" to explore grief, identity, friendship, language, and the human capacity to adapt. Shot entirely on location in the Galápagos Islands, On the Invention of Species transforms the archipelago into both a living laboratory of evolution and a landscape for a young girl's journey toward healing.

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