Alles Samba (2003)

Four years ago, renowned art expert Katharina Diezmann sponsored a Brazilian orphan. When eleven-year-old Marcia arrives in Berlin shortly before Christmas with a samba troupe, she turns up unannounced at her godmother’s home. She wants to finally meet her benefactor, but she would also love to see real snow. At first, Katharina is not at all pleased when lively Marcia tumbles into her carefully organized life. She wants to get rid of the child as quickly as possible, but Marcia’s chaperone, Claudio Bachmann, director of the Brazilian cultural institute, manages to persuade Katharina to look after Marcia for a few more days. Katharina agrees, but now has to take the girl along on her business appointments because she does not want to leave her alone in her apartment. This turns out to work quite well, as Marcia’s carefree nature helps Katharina persuade an elderly woman to finally sell her a valuable painting. To thank Marcia, Katharina tries to grant the girl’s wish for snow and, following the example of Mother Hulda, makes feathers from a bed pillow fall outside the window. Katharina also hopes this will speed up Marcia’s departure, since she urgently needs to go abroad before Christmas. But by the end, the girl has won the heart of the lonely career woman: when Marcia suddenly falls ill, Katharina cannot bring herself to leave her behind. To her boss’s annoyance, she cancels her trip. Although the child has completely disrupted her plans, Katharina wants to give her a truly lovely German Christmas. Marcia had shown her how easy it actually is to be happy. Katharina also keeps meeting Claudio Bachmann, and the two grow closer. Marcia hopes that soon she will have a real little family. At least it has already started snowing.