130 Children

"130 Children" is the portrait of an exceptional family composed by Melba (65), Víctor (70) and dozens of little and grown up children. This documentary will be approached through a choral tale led by the arrival of a new child at home, Yuneiker (9) and the leaving process of two of the third generation of grown up daughters: Isabel (21) and Francis (22). Together with them, we will discover how this great family lives, how it is possible to sustain the needs of more than forty children, what are the past stories and what the present quarrels that arise in this great family. We learn of the testimonies of the parents, Melba and Víctor; Luis Paulino (48), the eldest biological son of the family; and Francis and Isabel, the two adoptive daughters who are about to become independent from their home.

The film will begin by showing the awakening and morning dynamics of a family of more than 40 people until some of them get ready to go to school, others to university and a few stay at home: some have special learning abilities, so have special learning schedules. Once everyone leaves, the house becomes "quiet" and Melba and Victor share how one of their daughters suffered a deadly illness that led them to spend long periods in the hospital. It was there when a doctor asked Melba if she could host a terminally ill child who had been abandoned in the same hospital. That was the moment when they met their first "son of the heart". Melba prayed endlessly for the recovery of her two little ones and, unexpectedly, both were cured. So she committed to God to take in all the children she could.

The next morning Isabel and Francis help out by assisting their little siblings, as they share their stories. Isabel was in a shelter with her two older siblings when Melba brought them all to their new home and Francis was 8 years old when she came here with her twin sister after being mistreated and having tried to commit suicide taking chlorine and soap. We also know the impact that these massive adoptions have generated in the biological children through Luis Paulino's story. As the oldest biological son, he remembers his feelings when Melba started to multiply his family without Victor’s agreement and almost without realizing it, they went from being 6 to 12 children, from 12 to 25 and so on.

A new boy arrives, Yuneiker, and the narrative structure will have his adaptation into the family as a backbone. Isabel prepares for a new life of marriage and Francis discovers an unwanted pregnancy that she has to face alone, wondering if she would be capable of giving her daughter up for adoption.

The events overlap with the blunders of Melba's age. Luis Paulino reflects on how he may be who continues looking after his siblings after his parents grow too old to do it, while Victor wishes to stop receiving children. Yuneiker continues to learn and see the fun and also the difficulties of living in this particular family. Isabel makes her dream of being a volunteer with her fiance and Francis manages to graduate from high school, hoping for a better future for her and her daughter, whom she has decided to keep.

The ending is a great final scene: the family yearly trip to the beach. The older children and the little ones, grandchildren and the already integrated Yuneiker enjoy all together an afternoon of pooltime and the beach. Melba reflects on the need of caring “unwanted” children and that she does not intend to stop receiving new children, while she has the strength to do so.

So "130 Children" is a documentary that addresses an urgent social contingency such as the large number of abused and abandoned children worldwide, but from a constructive perspective that raises possible solutions in the medium term. That is why the treatment of the subjects is made from the inspirational story of a common family that decided to do something about that issue and has spent 40 years showing how it is possible to make a real change in the lives of other people through commitment and individual action. Because even if there is no clear data on the number of children living without families, since there are no official studies on the subject, UNICEF estimates that there are billions worldwide. Billions of children who suffer and, if they manage somehow to become adults, they will most likely perpetuate and replicate their own life experience in society and in their own children, forming an endless vicious circle.

So the intention of this documentary is to show the transformation that we can make if all of us, as families, actually engage with this issue that affects every single country, from the experience of these protagonists, approaching their stories, feelings and longings. So an intimate, loving and respectful approach to the characters has been made since 2010 when Ainara met the family during a research trip for a documentary series about happiness.

There she discovered the story, daily life and main conflicts of the family and seeing the power of this exceptional story, the Director decided to make a feature documentary about them and with Melba’s consent, they started to develop a long-distance friendship through the years. Until 2016, when the first shooting was possible and the small crew moved into her home for several weeks to be 100% immersed in their lifestyle and routines and building an intimate bond with children and adults. The crew recorded the interviews after weeks in the most possible intimate spaces, without pressing issues or responses that the children did not want to deepen or respond to and following Melba’s recommendations on which children could be more accessible to speak and tell about themselves.

It was very challenging to live in a 50 people home, 24 hours a day, with so many characters in a busy and noisy house all day long, so the crew had to work many hours, trying to be on alert all the time to see if something interesting happened and hoping that a new child arrived. But he/she never did. So in 2018, the Director went again, this time just by herself to stay much as necessary, in an even more intimate way with them, to film their lives' changes after two years and hoping that an unexpected (as always) child would arrive. And he did and it was an extraordinary experience to be there and capture his discoverings.

In this way it was possible to live their rhythms and approach the story from the confidence generated in an effort to get to know the protagonists, who even though come from a tragic social reality, have started to grow and feel safer inside this family. Because, for the Director, it’s fundamental to talk about this issue from the experience of people who have been successful in making a change in this matter and have something to show and reflect about engagement in our societies. And it’s fundamental to do it now because this issue it’s still too invisible for our communities and we could do much more if we knew that we actually can do something, or feel inspired by someone else’s experience.

This is why we believe that "130 Children" is a story that can generate awareness and inspiration for a complex problem but from a constructive perspective. Showing the urgency to improve the legal and bureaucratic procedures to assure children’s rights in Latin America and also empowering the public to dare to be part of the medium term solutions, generating opportunities for adoption and fostering such as this family, leaving aside stereotypes and fears and creating a more peaceful, supportive, participative and inclusive society. This documentary reflects an example in practice of how with will and commitment we can change the present and future of many generations, reflecting on the importance of understanding that all, as individuals and as society, are part of the future of the children and therefore of the future of our world.