La Familia

Documentary, Cuernavaca, Mexico

Fact:

In Mexico, 50% of the population live in poverty and female-headed households have increased from 13.6 % of the total in 1977 to 20 % in 2002. Around the globe, women are bearing the unequal burden of poverty.

Synopsis:

Have you ever noticed someone standing on a corner and wondered, “What’s their story?” La Familia is about that moment and taking a chance to enter a stranger’s life. La Familia follows a single mother who works as a flower vendor on the streets of Mexico. She shares her life of survival and hope as she raises her four sons.

Reflections:

We landed in the small town of Cuernavaca, two hours south of Mexico City. We entered the country without a story, but certain that the story would find us. We came to a street corner with a dozen children washing car windows as the cars would stop at the street lights. The kids danced, blew fire, and performed cartwheels between the moving traffic in an attempt to collect money from the people. Observing the happenings on this one street corner, we met a woman selling roses while her boys washed windows. She wanted to share her story with us, and from that came La Familia. It was one of the most moving experiences as a filmmaker, to sit with her, in her shoes and take that journey into her family’s life.

Resources:

Los Niños: www.losninosinternational.org