Edited by Abigail Vela
Note from the Editor: This article has original content from the Press Release provided by Entre and was further edited and developed with their permission.
Sentient.Art.Film, in partnership with ENTRE Film Center & Regional Archive, presents Lo Que Queda En El Camino (What Remains on the Way) as part of a traveling community screening series taking place at the LUPE Meeting Hall in San Juan on Sunday, May 7, 2023.
The film, a Brazilian-German co-production, follows Lilian, an indigenous mother of four, from Guatemala, through Mexico, to the US border. The film’s sensitive and committed cinematography place the audience on the road with the caravan and Lilian’s family as they walk, and walk, and walk.
The journey was an intimate experience for filmmakers Jakob Krese, Danilo do Carmo, and Arne Büttneror. According to the film’s site, “Along the way both the migrants and the film crew had to find their way, avoid getting separated and find shelter to sleep… There was no other option but for the film crew to become part of this migrant collective.” As the caravan and film crew traveled together, “Lilian and her children slowly took center stage in the film.”
The film holds significant importance, bringing awareness to the reality of many migrants traveling to the United States for a safer and better life. In addition, the film notes that Lilian, along with many migrants traveling with the caravan, comes from some of the most dangerous places on earth: The Northern Triangle of Central America, consisting of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. As of 2014, over 2 million people have fled due to violence, political instability, economic insecurity, and extreme poverty plaguing the region.
Gender-based violence and femicide are prevalent issues affecting many, especially women and femme-identifying individuals throughout the Northern Triangle of Central America. In fact, two of the three highest rates of femicide in Latin America occurred in Honduras (4.7 per 100,000 women) and El Salvador (2.1 per 100,000 women). Knowing these statistics, the film paints a “complex portrait of female migration” through the journey of a queer migrant woman and mother.
Ramiro Gonzalez, LUPE’s Communications Coordinator, shared his thoughts on the importance of the film’s screening for the RGV community:
“On the topic of the borderlands, we will never understand the true reason of someone’s struggles to make it across. We must think of what lies beyond the border, a border fueled with a dominate male history of aggression and oppression to those “beneath” them. As a man, as men we avert ourselves from looking at this through the so called “male gaze” and our perspective but look upon this through the perspective of others. Mothers, women, the queer community, and femme-identifying individuals. As those who cross are more than just “men” and “women,” and that is what we must understand from this screening with the inclusion of what we could do.”
This event will bring together RGV-based organizations The Sidewalk School, Texas Civil Rights Project, La Unión del Pueblo Entero, Counselors Without Borders, South Texans for Reproductive Justice, and Trucha to center the voices and needs of migrant folks while also connecting migrant communities and arts practitioners in a knowledge and resource exchange network that spans the US-Mexico borderlands.
C from Entre shared their thoughts about the upcoming screening and work being done by our local organizations:
“We hope this screening will raise awareness around the many push factors that contribute to migration, especially here in the Rio Grande Valley. The organizations we’ve asked to participate in this event are doing extremely important work on-the-ground, providing support through continued schooling for children, legal aid, housing, and many other factors that our government falls short on providing for individuals seeking refuge in our country. This work has helped many individuals during a very difficult time in their lives, and we hope that the film, as well as the dialogue after, will inspire a new way of understanding immigration in the RGV.”
This event is free and open to the public.
After the screening, a panel discussion with the community will be held. The film will be available to stream virtually. The event will be primarily in Spanish but will offer English/Spanish interpretation devices. Light refreshments will be available for audience members. There will also be activities for children in attendance.
Trucha will have a live screen printing station. Screen-printed posters will be free, and t-shirts will be for sale, with funds raised going to The Sidewalk School. Donations will be collected during the event for The Sidewalk School:
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