Sand Dollars

Noeli, a young Dominican escort, sustains a three-year arrangement with Anne, a much older French woman who pays for her services. Despite the transactional setup, Anne is in love with Noeli and hopes to build a future together. Noeli plans to use this relationship to obtain a visa to France and then reconnect with her mother in Barcelona.

While out with Anne, Noeli sees her boyfriend with another girl at a club. She angrily confronts him, but Anne only witnesses the tail end of the confrontation as she returns from the washroom. The moment highlights the fragility of Noeli's personal life amid her complex arrangement with Anne.

Noeli tries to stop Anne from leaving, hoping she will cover the bar tab and stay. Anne slaps her and walks away, leaving Noeli to face the emotional fallout of betrayal and the consequences of their volatile relationship.

On her way home after the club, Noeli crashes her motorcycle. While she lies injured on the road, the motorcycle is stolen, leaving her alone and vulnerable. The accident deepens her sense of abandonment and financial precarity.

For several days, Anne wonders what happened to Noeli, fearing she has abandoned her. She searches for her with no success, heightening the emotional distance between them. The silence underscores the fragility of their relationship.

Facing money trouble and uncertainty, Noeli tells her boyfriend to start providing for them. This marks a shift toward relying on him rather than on Anne, and it foreshadows the changing dynamics of her life.

Noeli returns to Anne and reveals that she is pregnant. Anne accompanies her to an ultrasound to check whether the unborn child is healthy, and they witness the sonogram together. The news deepens their bond and intensifies their travel plans.

At the clinic, the ultrasound confirms the pregnancy and they see the sonogram of the developing baby. The moment affirms the seriousness of their situation and motivates their decision to plan a future abroad. It also raises questions about whether Paris is the right place for Noeli’s happiness.

Following their reunion, Anne presents Noeli with a passport and a visa so they can travel to France together. Anne privately doubts whether Noeli will be happy in Paris, yet she persists in the plan. The documents symbolize a hopeful path toward a shared future.

Noeli's boyfriend discovers she is pregnant and contemplates having the child overseas, pressuring her to stay with him. This creates tension between Noeli’s growing commitment to a life with Anne and her old life with her boyfriend. The conflicting loyalties intensify as departure looms.

Noeli chooses to proceed with the departure plan and to leave with Anne, seeking a future together in Europe. The decision marks a critical shift from staying with her boyfriend to pursuing a life with Anne. Preparations for the journey begin as emotions run high.

On the night of departure, Noeli's boyfriend visits. She retrieves her passport from the nightstand and, in a bold turn, steals money and Anne's credit cards. She and her boyfriend drive away, and she tells him she loves him, signaling a final pivot in her loyalties.