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1 X 60'
Format: Red One / HDV
Status: Production
Format: Red One / HDV
Status: Production
Logline
Three struggling shoeshine girls try to raise their children on the
streets of La Paz, Bolivia as they fight against the dangers of rape,
drug addiction, police brutality, self-harming and discrimination on
an almost daily basis.
Synopsis
The Shoeshine Girls is the moving story of three shoe shining
mothers fighting to give their children a better life in La Paz, the
highest capital city in the world.
Bolivia is the poorest country in South America and its capital is
home to over 3,000 lustrabotas (shoe shiners). To be a lustrabota is
to be the subject of ridicule and the target of incessant bullying. It is
to be laughed at and belittled. Ignored and forgotten. They typically
make as little as $1 a day. Many are self-harmers, homeless, and
drug addicts.
Meet Cynthia, a 20-year-old mother, and lustrabota since the age
of 10. She fell into this work when her mother abandoned her and
fled to the USA. Her alcoholic father abused her daily so she took to
the streets. She has been raped, beaten, and discriminated against
for the past eight years. To cope with her physical and emotional
pain she turned to self-harming and sniffing glue. This is the drug of
choice for most lustrabotas.
But despite Cynthia’s hardship she is still fighting the temptation to
give up. This is because she has a two-year-old baby waiting to be
reunited with her. For the past 18-months her son Miguel has been
living with her boyfriend’s mother. She saves as much money as
she can so that she can see him again. But she just found out that
she is 6 months pregnant with her second child and she doesn’t
know who the father is. Now on top of all of her problems she is
faced with the strong possibility that her baby will be born with
severe mental or physical disabilities due to her chronic glue
sniffing.
Ines is 26, and has been a lustrabota for the past 10 years, and
has been living on the streets this entire time. Her two-year-old son
lives with her, along with her daughters, aged four and six. Her
husband is a drug user and self-harmer. He bears scars on his arms
so deep they have nearly reached bone.
Each day her three children wander the streets, picking up leftover
scraps of food out of cartons and begging while Ines tries to provide
for them in the only way she knows how: shining shoes. Her six
year old has already followed in her footsteps, and can often be
found at her side shining shoes too.
Marlene is one of the longest serving lustrabotas, having worked
the streets for over 17 years. The affable mother of two always has
a smile on her face and tries to cheer up her customers. But life has
not been kind to this self-professed ‘street comedian’.
She is 35 but could easily pass for a woman in her 50s. She shares
a tiny room with three children and her boyfriend. They have no
electricity, no running water, and no heating. She is regularly
bullied by her male counterparts, and has many of her shoe-shining
kit stolen or vandalized. Despite this she tries to keep a smile on
her face, and to provide for her children so that they won’t have to
follow in her footsteps.
The Shoeshine Girls is an observational documentary taking you
into the heart of this unique and heart-breaking world through the
eyes of three courageous mothers who are trying to find a way out
for their children.
Three struggling shoeshine girls try to raise their children on the
streets of La Paz, Bolivia as they fight against the dangers of rape,
drug addiction, police brutality, self-harming and discrimination on
an almost daily basis.
Synopsis
The Shoeshine Girls is the moving story of three shoe shining
mothers fighting to give their children a better life in La Paz, the
highest capital city in the world.
Bolivia is the poorest country in South America and its capital is
home to over 3,000 lustrabotas (shoe shiners). To be a lustrabota is
to be the subject of ridicule and the target of incessant bullying. It is
to be laughed at and belittled. Ignored and forgotten. They typically
make as little as $1 a day. Many are self-harmers, homeless, and
drug addicts.
Meet Cynthia, a 20-year-old mother, and lustrabota since the age
of 10. She fell into this work when her mother abandoned her and
fled to the USA. Her alcoholic father abused her daily so she took to
the streets. She has been raped, beaten, and discriminated against
for the past eight years. To cope with her physical and emotional
pain she turned to self-harming and sniffing glue. This is the drug of
choice for most lustrabotas.
But despite Cynthia’s hardship she is still fighting the temptation to
give up. This is because she has a two-year-old baby waiting to be
reunited with her. For the past 18-months her son Miguel has been
living with her boyfriend’s mother. She saves as much money as
she can so that she can see him again. But she just found out that
she is 6 months pregnant with her second child and she doesn’t
know who the father is. Now on top of all of her problems she is
faced with the strong possibility that her baby will be born with
severe mental or physical disabilities due to her chronic glue
sniffing.
Ines is 26, and has been a lustrabota for the past 10 years, and
has been living on the streets this entire time. Her two-year-old son
lives with her, along with her daughters, aged four and six. Her
husband is a drug user and self-harmer. He bears scars on his arms
so deep they have nearly reached bone.
Each day her three children wander the streets, picking up leftover
scraps of food out of cartons and begging while Ines tries to provide
for them in the only way she knows how: shining shoes. Her six
year old has already followed in her footsteps, and can often be
found at her side shining shoes too.
Marlene is one of the longest serving lustrabotas, having worked
the streets for over 17 years. The affable mother of two always has
a smile on her face and tries to cheer up her customers. But life has
not been kind to this self-professed ‘street comedian’.
She is 35 but could easily pass for a woman in her 50s. She shares
a tiny room with three children and her boyfriend. They have no
electricity, no running water, and no heating. She is regularly
bullied by her male counterparts, and has many of her shoe-shining
kit stolen or vandalized. Despite this she tries to keep a smile on
her face, and to provide for her children so that they won’t have to
follow in her footsteps.
The Shoeshine Girls is an observational documentary taking you
into the heart of this unique and heart-breaking world through the
eyes of three courageous mothers who are trying to find a way out
for their children.
Click to read blog
Click to read blog
Cynthia
Ines
Marlene
The Shoeshine Girls from Woolfcub on Vimeo.
With the support of:
National Geographic
National Geographic
Channel 4
