• Deutscher Kamerapreis

    Best Cinematography
  • Fünf Seen Filmfestival

    Best Documentary
  • Achtung Berlin

    Award for Best Cinematography
  • ABCine Brazil

    Best Sound
  • DokLeipzig

    Honorary Mention DEFA Award
  • DocAviv

    Honorable Mention
  • Guanajuato Int'l Film Festival

    Honorific Mention
  • Dokfest Munich

  • DocsMX

Pricing
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Spanish with English subtitles

With Lilian Florinda Hernández Lopez, Sergio Rigoberto Lopez Hernández, Blanca Lilian Lopez Hernández, Victor Noe Lopez Hernández, Anali Floridalma Lopez Hernández, Ana-Maria Escobar, Wilson Antonio Funez, Carlos Irving Mondragón Prad, Irene Duarte

What Remains on the Way offers a critical exploration of forced migration through the lens of Lilian, a Guatemalan single mother, and her four children as they traverse a perilous 3,000-mile journey to the Mexico-US border.

Directed by Danilo do Carmo and Jakob Krese, the documentary dismantles reductive narratives surrounding migration by illustrating it as a profound act of resistance against entrenched patriarchal structures and endemic violence.

By centering on the children’s perspective, the film underscores the intersection of gender, violence, and displacement. It reveals that migration is often less about seeking economic opportunity and more about the existential imperative for safety and dignity.

The filmmakers’ stark portrayal of the physical and emotional toll of the journey—marked by exhaustion, exposure, and institutional neglect—is counterbalanced by evocative depictions of solidarity and mutual aid among migrants, particularly among women fleeing gender-based violence and cartel coercion.

What Remains on the Way challenges dominant discourses and invites scholarly reflection on migration as an act of agency and survival amid systemic oppression.

Press

“Startling insight into the struggles of US border migrants.” – Phuong Le, The Guardian

“Over 100 hours of footage were shot for this documentary chronicling the fraught journey that thousands make to reach the US-Mexico border — but, watching the 93 minutes that made the cut, you get a sense that this is the story that was meant to be told.” – Rarah Cheded, A Good Movie to Watch

“The documentary Lo que queda en el camino puts a female face on migration.”Los Angeles Times

About the Director

Jakob Krese grew up between former Yugoslavia and Germany. He studied Cinematography and Directing in Berlin, Havana, and Sarajevo. Jakob has worked as director, producer and cinematographer of creative documentaries. His films have been shown at competition programs of numerous festivals, like IFFR Rotterdam, Palm Springs, Guanajuato, Busan and DOK-Leipzig. In 2019, he co-founded the independent production company Majmun Films based in Berlin.

Danilo do Carmo was born in the south of Brazil. He studied cinematography and editing at the University of São Paulo and at the Konrad Wolf Film University in Berlin. He is the DoP of Bird Boy (2018) which was awarded the best picture of the Curta Cinema Festival in Rio de Janeiro, by the young jury. La Espera, his directorial debut together with Jakob Krese, premiered at IFFR in Rotterdam in 2020 and has been shown at numerous festivals around the world.

Notes on Film

“Lilian seemed incredibly comfortable with the camera, she seemed to forget our presence. We couldn’t circum our position as filmmakers, or our privilege. Two middle-class men captivated by a romantic vision of the working class. One, the son of a Yugoslav migrant mother in Germany intrigued by questions surrounding migration. And, a Brazilian man, great-grandson of Maroons, interested in the identities of black people in the Americas.

In the caravan, one reveals oneself through the choices one makes, how one connects with others, and how one deals with fear and anxiety. Lilian got to know us through our actions whilst allowing us to document hers. As Lilian warmed to us, her character unfolded. But Lilian chose the moments she shared. It was these moments that allowed us to document a complex portrait of female migration; a narrative that does not conform to simple storylines but depicts different facets of Lilian’s journey.”

– Jakob Krese and Danilo Do Carmo, Directors