The fascinating true story of three children abandoned at France Station, new docuseries by Carles Porta

BarcelonaOn April 22, 1984, three siblings –two boys and a girl– appear alone at Barcelona's Estació de França. They are six, four, and two years old and are named Ramón, Richie, and Elvira. They don't know their surnames or their parents' names. Nor do they know what they are doing at that station. The three children only speak French and say they come from Paris. The mystery of their origins has accompanied the three siblings for a good part of their lives, but when Elvira became pregnant, she decided it was time to try to discover who their parents were and why they abandoned them. This fascinating investigation has become the docuseries Abandoned, produced by Carles Porta's team, and it can be seen on Disney+ starting May 29. Before its official premiere, a first preview will be held this Saturday at the DocsBarcelona festival.

The series has four episodes that chronologically explain the story of the three siblings from when they were abandoned and adopted by two Barcelona pedagogues who gave them a secure family environment until, forty years later, Elvira begins the search. Despite having practically no information about their lives before the abandonment, with great patience and the help of unexpected collaborators, she manages to unravel their origins. The first place she shared her story was on the program Islàndia on RAC1, hosted by Albert Om. Some time later, she came into contact with Carles Porta's team, who helped her with the investigation and has turned the case into this docuseries created by journalist Anna Punsí and directed by Carlos Alonso Ojeda. “We got fully involved. We were on top of the case for many months, accompanying them on trips to France and Belgium and searching for documentation,” explains the series creator about the work process.

Motherhood, a before and after

“With motherhood, I started asking myself many questions. Following the pandemic, I slowed down and those questions took on a lot of weight. That’s when I needed answers, but at the same time, I didn’t dare. It was my partner who pushed me”, explains Elvira Moral, who says she had always felt “a piece of the puzzle was missing”. “As I start to see my children grow, the questions gain more strength because I imagine my siblings and myself as children. And I think: «Heavens, they are little people who walk, who think, who remember»”, she reflects.

She admits that throughout the journey to find her origins, there have been moments when she felt discouraged. Nevertheless, the creator ofAbandonados assures that Elvira has been an example of tenacity. “She conveys a lot of kindness and at the same time a touch of innocence. That has caused many people to join her. All the people who have helped her have done so because they saw that kindness and good faith in her, as well as the strength she transmits to fight for what she desires”, assures Punsí.

As the journalist indicates, Elvira has not been alone in her search. Apart from her siblings, she has also had the help of a constellation of collaborators. “It is a story full of generosity and solidarity, and above all of women”, remarks Carles Porta. These are mainly amateur researchers and genealogists who decided to dedicate their free time to trying to help the three siblings find their family. Elvira assures that this part of her life journey has reconciled her with humanity. “They are people who have helped me from the beginning until now. It still amazes me, because they didn’t know me at all. With two of them [the women who help her], we didn’t even speak the same language”, she says.

Family project

Another of the prominent characters in the story is the adoptive mother of the three children, who always supported them in their search. "She had always told us to search. But at that time, we were in a different phase. I will be eternally grateful to her because I don't think it would have been the same without her. With everything it must have meant to her, she told us 'go ahead, all of us together'. She has my absolute admiration," explains Elvira. Director Carlos Alonso remarks that Elvira's mother, Marisa, is so important to the series that there is a moment when she becomes a protagonist.

During their journey to discover their origins, Elvira and her siblings travel around Catalonia, but they also visit Madrid, Seville, France, and Belgium. Although the investigation is still ongoing, the protagonist of this fascinating story assures that everything she has discovered so far has helped her to understand herself and her siblings better. "I had always thought that environment does more than genetics, and now I believe that the balance is starting to tip and equalize. I think one should know things, whether good or bad. I suppose I started from the premise that I never idealized anything and that helped," she reflects.

While it is true that Crims can now be seen worldwide through Netflix,

Abandonados

is the first production from Carles Porta's factory made specifically for an internationally reaching platform like Disney+.