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.