Homeless Migration: Documentary Shines a Light on Homelessness in Prague

Homeless Migration is a documentary focused on the life of Carlos Davis Reséndiz and his friends living in Prague. Carlos is better known as “The Red Tiger of Sonora”.

The documentary is directed by Carlos Casasola, a professional photographer from Mexico.

Graduated from the Film and Television School of the Prague Academy of Performing Arts (FAMU), Casasola has developed his work as a documentary photographer and in 2019 he joined the photography department of the National Gallery of Prague.

“The Red Tiger of Sonora” is a 58-year-old Mexican immigrant who lives under the Štvanice Bridge in Prague. More than 20 years ago, he traveled to Europe for the first time: from Paris, he traveled to Frankfurt and then to Prague, where he would live on the streets.

“One day, I met Carlos Reséndiz (the Red Tiger) in a tram. For a migrant, it is like finding an oasis in the desert, when you meet someone who comes from the same place or speaks the same language,” said Martin, one of the guys behind the filming crew and in charge of Public Relations.

The Tiger under the Štvanice Bridge

It was at this meeting under the Štvanice bridge that Casasola had the vision of showing this phenomenon of migrants living on the streets in a city like Prague.

“This is how the documentary “Homeless Migration” began, as a result of the collective work between artists and the creative vision of Carlos,” he says.

“Migration is a historical but current phenomenon, in which I feel identified. Cities grow, they become more magnified, and progress shows an ideal, normal life. Prague is a city known for its beauty but it also has universes under the bridges, where no one would turn to take a look.”

“That is the goal of the documentary, to give life and voice to those people who are rejected by society, who are seen as inferior and even considered as a burden for some people. Stories told not only by homeless people, but, by migrant homeless people,” he concludes.

The El Tigre Rojo de Sonora from Mexico

• Fiest’ák
• Buenas Artes z.s.
• Kulturní Klinika Praha FB page

Carlos Casasola, Mexican photographer