Films by Danilo Do Carmo

Germany, Brasil 2021, 93 min
by Jakob Krese

In 2018, thousands of people from Latin America set out together, fleeing from a lack of perspective, poverty and violence to the U.S. Among them Lilian, a single mother from Guatemala, who found the courage to leave her violent husband. The caravan was her only chance to achieve this act of strength. Nevertheless: 4,000 kilometres with four small children, walking, hitchhiking and travelling north on “La Bestia”, the freight train, are still extremely perilous.The film contrasts the media coverage with a sensitive view that deliberately focuses on one family. It registers inconceivable hardships, but also great helpfulness, Lilian’s power of endurance and her ability to make the exertions seem like an adventure trip for her children – at least occasionally. Despite this lightness, though, the struggle remains as present as the fact that the US is simultaneously building a wall to prevent anyone from crossing the border. When Lilian and her children reach the border after weeks of fear, she breaks down. Suddenly the question arises whether her goal is really this rich country. Isn’t it rather about finally standing up to male dominance and traditional gender roles? It’s very obvious that one thing remained on Lilian’s arduous way: Fear has yielded to a new self-confidence. [Luc-Carolin Ziemann, 64 DOK Leipzig]

2020, 15 min
by Danilo Do Carmo, Jakob Krese Weidner

A remote piece of no man's land. A dusty, barren area in between the railway line and the highway. A few campfires flaring. Groups of people gathering here and there. Slowly the situation is becoming clear. They are part of the caravan heading towards the US border. Silent images and fragments of touching conversations calmly direct the viewer's attention to the microcosm of individual destinies within the context of world affairs. What seems so abstract and far away, suddenly becomes close and alive.