Transfer files from a broken-screen 2015 MacBook

My 2015 Macbook has a broken screen, and since it was already on its last legs I figured it's probably better to buy a new laptop rather than pay hundreds to fix it, but there are files I need on it. I tried connecting it with a USB to USBC cable to my brother's 2023 Macbook but it didn't work, I saw that you can connect the two with a Thunderbolt cable but those are like £70 so before I buy one I wanted to check, do I need access to both screens to transfer files? Or are there any other ways to transfer files across? TIA