Projects

What Becomes of Me?

What Becomes of Me? is a documentary about the aspirations of Latin American teenagers and the reality of their adult lives.

Media

Argentina & Bolivia & Colombia & Costa Rica & Guatemala & Mexico & Aotearoa New Zealand

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What Becomes of Me? trailer. Jessie Casson, 2020

What Becomes of Me? is a documentary about 26 Latin American teenagers being produced by portrait photographer Jessie Casson. In 2003, during a backpacking trip on her honeymoon, Jessie interviewed and photographed teenagers in nine countries, to find out about their hopes and dreams. What Becomes of Me? tells the story of Jessie returning 16 years later to search for the teenagers and find out what has happened in their lives.

On her return trip, Jessie is accompanied by her husband and three children, and the same camera -a Hasselblad – that she used during the original trip. They are joined by New Zealand videographer Sara Guix, who documents their 122-day, 10,000-kilometre journey. The search includes looking for Rosa on a small Peruvian island, whose ambitions at 17 years old were to knit well and grow good potatoes; Noel from Bolivia, whose father wanted him to be a teacher while he wanted to work with horses; Osman from Nicaragua, who wanted to be a professional American footballer; and Roberto from Bolivia, who, at 13 years old, was already working at a mine.

Jessie is motivated by finding out what has happened to the people she met years ago, whether they have fulfilled their dreams, and how their perspectives changed as they became adults. She also wants to push herself out of her comfort zone and show her children what life outside New Zealand looks like. In What Becomes of Me? she examines the challenges, excitement and disappointments of the search.

During the return journey, Jessie posted short stories on social media. Since returning to New Zealand, she has been searching for funding to create a feature-length film, or series, and produce a podcast from her audio diaries. However, finding funding has proved harder than finding the teenagers she first photographed in 2003. Once the film is launched, Jessie hopes it will inspire New Zealanders to pursue their own Latin American journey. She wants to show that, despite our different backgrounds, we have many similarities with people in Latin America and can travel safely there and make meaningful connections.

Jessie was born in the UK but has lived in New Zealand since she and her husband travelled there on their honeymoon. In 2018, she released another documentary called What Becomes of Me? about the lives of four New Zealand teenagers. Both films examine how some teenage dreams don’t diminish, even though people's lives don't always turn out as they expected them to.

Published 02 November 2023