Animating the stories of migrant children, director Gabriela Badillo and her crew at Hola Combo in Mexico reveal the complexity of emotions underlying the US border crisis in this animated documentary for Doctors Without Borders.

Gabriela Badillo: “Hola Combo is passionate about telling stories with social responsibility and creativity to raise awareness about the major crises of today, as well the power of art and animation as tools for communication and social change.

“Official figures indicate that one in three migrants detained in an irregular situation in Mexico is a minor. This film portrays the experiences of six children who fled their countries in Central America and were waiting at the gates of the United States for an opportunity to rebuild their lives.
 

“This film portrays the experiences of six children who fled their countries in Central America and were waiting at the gates of the United States for an opportunity to rebuild their lives.”

 
“We did a workshop with them for a week at a migrant shelter in northern Mexico, engaging them in activities and giving them space to talk about their story and offering them the opportunity to change their narrative through the metaphor of a bird, which represents the journey they undertake and how, just like birds, they have the right to fly to a better place.

“The voices of migrant children together with animation that imitates a child’s drawings plus audio design that is overwhelming by the closeness it transmits, all of these elements form a harmonious and devastating whole about this unacceptable situation.”
 
 

 
Client: Médicos Sin Fronteras (Doctors without Borders)

Production: Hola Combo
Director: Gabriela Badillo
Producer: Esteban Montaño Vásquez
Art/animation director: Gabriela Badillo, Tamara Cruz Gutiérrez
Art: Tamara Cruz, Enrique Sañudo Paredes
Storyboard: Gabriela Badillo
Animator: Tamara Cruz Gutiérrez, Cristina Lugo Pérez, Montserrat Vázquez Prendes, Andrea Esponda Abarca, Valeria Anaya Jijon, Jorge Aguilar Rojo
Compositor: Gabriela Badillo
Production coordinator: Adriana Arvizu

Sound design: Igor Figueroa

Workshop/interviews production: MSF Mexico and Central America Communications
Director: Laura Panqueva
Field communication manager: Esteban Montaño Vásquez
Field communication officer: Laura Aceituno
Press officer: Sergio Pérez
Designer: Ana Villanueva
Oficial digital: Alejandra Tapia
Digital Assistant: Angélica Pérez
Audiovisual officer:Maria Chavarria
Events officer: Emmanuel Quezada
Social service: Lucía Carapia y Hannia García

MSF team at Reynosa:
Head of humanitarian affairs: Anayeli Flores
Mental health supervisor: Alejandro Alvarado
Field psychologist: Daniela Castañeda
Community educator: Keren de la Rosa