Escaramuza Down - New Discovery

Escaramuza Down, Corazon con Angel.

Brief

Down Syndrome, with its array of physical and cognitive disabilities, can be a difficult thing to live with. But luckily there are associations like the Escaramuza Down: Corazon con Angel, which helps girls with Down Syndrome to get through their day-to-day lives as best as they can by providing them therapeutic care based on equine therapy.

Escaramuza Down has an extensive team that provides services such as psychological care for all members including their mothers and themselves; social work assistance if necessary; 17 therapists in charge of the rehabilitation needs around body movement control.

As part of the incredible work they do, they bring group therapy for their mothers to share experiences, they provide support, guidance, and understanding for their daughters who face this diagnosis–making it easier than ever before to overcome challenges together.

This project not only helps the physical wellness of these girls but also their social integration and emotional well-being. The documentary reveals how equine therapy can be beneficial for both parts in many ways. From heat benefits that a horse transmits to speeding up motor movements in children; or from providing an environment where they can interact socially, helping them gain self-confidence while gaining more friends through this process.

Approach

We decided to show the noble work the association did, through the “Escaramuza Down: Corazón con Ángel” where we expressed the experiences of the therapists, the girls, and their mothers.

Without a doubt, it was an inspiring project. It’s very impressive to see the girls lead and maneuvering horses themselves! We were impressed because riding is by itself a difficult activity in general but having charreria technique makes it even more challenging – yet these girls are able to do so much with all their limited abilities and skills thanks to this therapy

We came to this project because a family member of our producer, co-founder, and COO Liz Pasillas was an active member of this group and we wanted to express the gratitude for the process through this documentary that we created, produced, and even broadcast publicly so that others could see the work of this association.

Work

Despite being a very small team, the production was quite efficient. We learned to be very empathetic with the girls and their mothers, as well as we learned to be careful with the message we wanted to express through this video, as we were aware that it was a delicate and strong topic for all those who collaborated with us.

When making this documentary, we wanted to be careful with how our shots were set up so that they didn’t interrupt the work of either individual or group therapy sessions. This is why in the end it was very fluid and natural-looking because it showed how the classes are week by week, their coexistence, harmony, and the achievements it brings with it. We even wanted to record the thoughts and expressions of some of the mothers who are part of the group, to hear how this therapy has changed their relationship with their daughters was really wonderful.

We finished the filming project with a 14:00 minute documentary, which we took to Miami, Florida where we won the award for best documentary at Filmgate’s “I’m not gonna move to L.A.” festival in 2014. Without a doubt, we are very happy to have been able to represent Ciudad Juarez and its people internationally.

“It was very nice to be able to take this project to an international level, and that’s where the rewards are, they are not tangible in monetary terms but in the satisfaction of transmitting the vision of our project to other people, that’s where a purpose is fulfilled”. Our co-founder, the producer, and COO, Liz Pasillas, shared with us.