Signed by French-speaking artists Stéphanie Barbey and Luc Peter and released on October 9, the documentary “Dreamers” tells the story of Carlos and his family, but also the destiny of 2.5 million people who grow up in the United States in a country who still does not recognize them as his own.
At the age of nine, Carlos came to Chicago from Mexico with his three brothers and his parents. His father works in the energy field, his mother is a teacher. Once in the United States, it’s a downfall for the family who lives in difficult conditions. The father turns out to be violent and the couple separates.
On his 18th birthday, Carlos’ future becomes uncertain. Under US law, he is now undocumented. The slightest mistake could lead to expulsion. These young immigrants, who did not choose to be and who find themselves undocumented, are called “Dreamers”.
Swiss directors Stéphanie Barbey and Luc Peter traveled to the borders of the United States and Mexico to examine the relationship that a handful of American citizens have with their neighbors, whose migrations are severely contained by the long wall that stands the border. By filming with kindness the intimacy of the simple daily life of Carlos, who has now lived in Chicago for 29 years, Luc Peter and Stéphanie Barbey give substance to this life without existence.
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The twists and turns of administration
For decades, America has been trying to regularize the status of young people who, like Carlos, grew up in the United States. “The American population is very empathetic towards the destiny of these young people. How can we not be when faced with children who have not chosen to follow their parents? Where this gets stuck is at the level of administrations. Each time, the law [initiée en 2001] is rejected by a few votes or by the American Senate”, explains Stéphanie Barbey in the Vertigo show on October 11.
Interrupted by Covid, the filming of the film saw two different American presidents. “We filmed under Trump, then under Biden. Administrations come and go, but the status of Dreamers never changes”, specifies Stéphanie Barbey.
>> See the meeting with the two filmmakers in the 7:30 p.m.:
Another look at immigration
The film “Dreamers” is part of the sequel to “Broken Land” directed by Luc Peter and Stéphanie Barbey and released in 2015. “‘Broken Land’ was a film shot along the Mexican-American border in Arizona with the device very clear to stay on the American side, to show instead the fear of the other, an other that we never see in the film. While scouting, we still wanted to meet the people who crossed this border. , specifies Luc Peter.
For “Dreamers”, the duo of filmmakers went to Los Angeles and Chicago, two cities in which immigration is very high. In Chicago, they meet Carlos, in a fairly dangerous neighborhood. “We were literally blown away by his story because it was very touching. He didn’t complain but really told what happened to him and his four brothers,” explains the director.
With Carlos in voice-over and the destiny of this family, of these four brothers, one of whom is expelled, a story of absences is woven: the absence of a brother, of a father, the the absence of papers, the absence of freedom.
Comments collected by Anne Laure Gannac
Web adaptation: Lara Donnet
“Dreamers” by Stéphanie Barbey and Luc Peter, co-production RTS and ARTE. To be seen in French-speaking cinemas since October 9, 2024.
