20,000 species of bees

An eight-year-old child struggles with the fact that people keep addressing her in confusing ways.

Lucia, 6, knows that something inside her doen’t fit the others expectations but she doesn’t know what it is.
In the midst of the family’s breakdown, Ane uses a cousin’s baptism as an excuse to take her three children to her hometown. This journey seems to be a breath of fresh air in the face but quickly becomes a suffocating reality for Ane who is confronted to the weight of the environment and family values.
In the meanwhile the nature that surrounds the family home her mother grew up in fascinates Lucía; particularly the land that has been used for beekeeping and honey production. Lucía immediately connects with Lourdes; an unpolished woman who not only keeps the old family tradition of beekeeping alive but who also has a mysterious relationship with the bees and their hives.
At the same time, Lucía learns for the first time the true value of friendship with Niko; a girl of her same age who doesn’t care about the fact Lucia has a penis.

Director's note: 20,000 Species of Bees is a coming-of-age story in which I explore the relationship between body, gender, and identity from Lucia and Ane’s point of view throughout the story. It is not just a film about child transsexuality but an intergenerational portrait about identity and acceptance in the family; about the construction of gender relationships; tradition and change; but above all about the need to be loved just as one is.
With the subject of transgender issues, it is pertinent to reflect on film genres and push the envelope. As a director, I am very interested in the line between fiction and documentary, especially working with non-actors to create a more realistic code that goes in the same direction of the truth I am searching for in the children ́s performances.