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Cady Voge | United States | 2024
Documentary filmmaker and journalist, Cady Voge presents a character-driven story in her feature directorial debut in ALL WE CARRY about a young Honduran family seeking asylum in the U.S. The remarkable film footage of their journey from start to finish is a story to be told to the world. It’s no wonder Voge has been given honorable acknowledgements for her journalism.
Voge met the participants of her documentary, ALL WE CARRY, while covering the migrant caravan in Mexico in 2018, for which her reporting was nominated for an EPPY Award. The EPPY Awards honor excellence in digital news publishing and are presented by Editor & Publisher Magazine—the first award given was in 1997.
Voge explains, “I lived in border regions and covered immigration long enough to know that the story of being embraced and financially supported by perfect strangers was a one-in-a-million experience for new arrivals to the U.S., and that this wasn’t a coincidence that this was happening during the Trump administration.” Continuing, “Every character in our film is motivated in part by changing a narrative, whether it be their own, or that of how the U.W. Reacts immigrants.” Adding, “ALL WE CARRY pushes the viewer to consider: What would it take for you to flee from your country, your home, and your family? If it were you, would you choose to participate in supporting this family if it might put you and your community at risk?” Voge shares, “Our story also begs the question: If this process is so difficult for a family with a whole community behind them, what must it be like for an asylum-seeker who does not receive support or institutional aid while their case is in process?”
Voge shares, “Spanning three years, ALL WE CARRY tells the intimate story of one family, while humanizing one of the most divisive issues of our time: immigration.” As Magdiel, Mirna, and their young son, Joshua, flee persecution in their home country of Honduras the young family is not certain they will survive the horrific journey to the U.S. border in order to seek asylum. Adding, “Our film centers on the refugee experience, allowing us to see ourselves within it—as it examines a life in limbo while seeking asylum in the United States.”
Voge documents that such a trek is unbelievably dangerous but the life they leave behind is even more so for each of them. Once in conflict with the cartel then the whole family is in danger and the threat of each member being annihilated is a reality. Fleeing is the only option.
Voge shadows Magdiel, Mirna, and Joshua along their nerve-racking journey as they flee Honduras on foot and ride in cargo trains across Mexico, claims asylum at the U.S. border, and endures separation in detention facilities before being released to live with extended family in Seattle, Washington.
As fate would have it, two months after living in Seattle, a West Seattle synagogue offers to sponsor the young family for the two years leading up to their final court date. Grateful for such a sponsorship, they knew nothing about Judaism being themselves Evangelical Christians. Over time the love, unending kindness, and appreciation for the members of the synagogue grew and a bond with a different family became their new normal.
Voge’s film bears witness to everyday experiences, the moments of sadness and joy, and every step of their initial journey. She ponders, “Mirna and Magdiel have turned me into a filmmaker, and they have turned our film into so much more than an immigration story—it is a love story about healing, community, and marriage. And their attempt to find their way home.”