Résumé

This communication aims to analyze the documentary made by Brazilian filmmaker Eliana Caffé, The Cambridge Squatter, made in 2016, from the point of view of reality and fiction, in view of the hybridization of genres proposed by the filmmaker. Caffé in his feature film mixes professional and social actors intertwining stories of migrants and refugees who find themselves living in what was once a luxury hotel in the downtown area of São Paulo, the Hotel Cambridge. For different reasons, they are in a situation of social vulnerability and in this collective space, they have one of the few possibilities of having a house, as well as food, in addition to being able to share stories and experiences ranging from refugees from the war in Congo to Syrians who left their country. The film also presents the situation of Brazilians, especially Northeasterners, who migrate from their places of origin in search of better living conditions, seeing this possibility in the city of São Paulo. In its political bias, it presents the various movements and NGOs involved in the struggle for the right to housing, and the problem of the abandonment of downtown and being occupied by “homeless” people. There are many themes punctuated in Caffé’s film, this communication will mainly address issues linked to this representation of poverty, the vulnerability of these people, and their struggle for a space of housing and social dignity, as well as the relationship and imbrication between the real and the fictional.