Japanese documentary films have a time-honored tradition of socially committed, activist works; God's Children continues this heritage with uncommon, unflinching power. On the outskirts of Manila lies Patayas, one of the world's largest garbage dumps, where thousands of families make their living scavenging. Director Shinomiya, whose earlier film Scavengers documented Manila's infamous landfill Smoky Mountain, visited Patayas (nicknamed Smoky Valley) to make a documentary on disabled children. Days after he arrived, however, the dump gave way in a massive landslide, killing over a thousand people. God's Children is a harrowing document of this tragedy, of the recovery effort, of the fires that soon consumed the area, and of the struggle, and the dignity, of those who carry on.