10 · 04 · 09

Which Way Home focuses on child migration

Por Cindy Hawes

“The treatment of immigrant children] is cruel and makes me heartsick,” she said.

The documentary, which is part of the Films without Borders section of
the 7th Morelia International Film Festival, traces the journey of
Mexican and Central American children as they leave their homes alone
and travel 2,500 kilometers by freight train to the U.S. border.  Some
make the trip to reunite with their families, others to support those
back home.

Cammisa said the film, which took 6 ½ years to make, was not scripted,
rather the crew would go to detention centers and shelters to talk with
the children who they found there.  Then they chose several children,
like Fito and Kevin, and followed their dangerous and often tragic trek
on “the beast,” as they referred to the train they would hitch a ride
on to the border.

Referring to the quantity of children traveling from Tapachula,
Chiapas, to the northern border, photograph director Lorenzo Hagerman
said it was more of an “exodus” than a migration.

Cammisa said she chose the documentary genre because it dealt with the
plight of real people with a future.  It’s not about fiction where
actors can “get a capuchino” after shooting a scene, she said.

One of the saddest parts, she added, is that even when children return
in coffins, others from the same family leave. “It’s constant movement.”

When asked what can be done to help, the director called on people to
write letters to U.S. congress members to end this “disgusting”
situation, or donate money through their website or directly to the
migrant shelters

The documentary will be screened again on Monday, Oct. 5, at 2:45 p.m. at Cinépolis Centro.

Translated by Cindy Hawes