Maria Quiroga

I started Las Hijas about five years ago when I was introduced to an adoptee named Kris by a friend that said "you two should talk, you are both Colombian". We were at a party and spent the entire evening in a corner talking. I was completely intrigued by her story. She had been raised by a Caucasian family, had never been to Colombia after being born there and did not speak any Spanish. She shared her confusion about her identity and the fact that I was one of the first Colombians she had ever met. Two days later, the production of Las Hijas began. After spending a few days with Kris, we found a Colombian Adoption Support group on the internet. We set up a picnic so all of the adoptees could meet. There I met various adoptees and was introduced to Laura and Tanya. I attended so many of the group's meeting and adoption conferences that the running joke became that I was adopted by the adoptees.

Las Hijas focuses on three adoptees, Laura, Kris and Tanya. I chose these three women not only because they were part of the first large wave of adoptions from Colombia and spoke openly about their experiences, but also because each of them was at such a different place with being adopted from Colombia.

I filmed this documentary for about four years primarily in the New York area, but also in Colombia. During this time, there were dramatic changes in these women's lives, especially Kris'. She told me that being a part of the documentary made her return to Colombia sooner than she would have had she not been involved in the project. While she was there, she made a shocking and unexpected discovery

It was important to me to create a documentary about international adoption that not only told the adoptees' stories, but also touched on the other two points of the adoption triangle: The biological family and the adoptive family. I have seen many adoption programs that glorify adoption and only speak about the positive points. International adoptions are also often glorified by celebrities adopting poor children from third world countries...I felt it was important to tell what these three adoptees went through as children and are still going through as adults.