Zulaika-kobra ta duru

For the children's film Zulaika - kobra ta duru, scriptwriter Milushka Birge drew from personal experiences. Like so many other children on this Antillean island, the ten-year-old protagonist Zulaika is raised by her grandparents, because her mother is looking for work in the Netherlands. Grandma runs a small grocery store. She is a sweet old grumbler who is unable to read or write, but she is good at mental arithmetic. Grandpa is deaf and soon leaves for Columbia for an operation. The film follows the dreamy girl for one year. She shares her problems with an iguana: she misses her mother, but her most pressing concern is her grandmother. Zulaika sees how granny sells articles on tick, so the shop threatens to go bankrupt. The tuition can no longer be paid and there is no money left for a decent school uniform, either. When grandma falls ill and all earnings come to a halt, Zulaika devises an ingenious plan. Director Van Rooijen's feature film debut is the first Antillean children's film spoken in Papiamento.