Those of you who have been following this page for some time will know that I will always endorse films and projects that address and highlight important issues in Guatemala, and Latin America as a whole. I especially endorse documentaries that deal with issues of social justice, social inequality, human rights, and those that point out the obvious lack of government initiatives that will help flourish in any society.
The Engineer is a film that focuses on Israel Ticas, the only criminologist working in one of Latin America’s most dangerous countries: El Salvador. Israel has made it his mission to find the hundreds of missing teenagers who have fallen victim to the country’s brutal gang conflit; he is our guide through this gruesome and sad chapter in El Salvador’s current state of affairs.
The mothers and grandmothers of the disappeared affectionately call Israel el ingeniero (the engineer). For them, el ingeniero is the only person who listens to them. Aside from family members, Israel is the one sole person who cares about the disappeared, whether they were gang members, or not. Those who’ve disappeared include sons, daughters, grandchildren, from all over the country. The families of the disappeared have been ignored for so long, they do not know who else to turn to. The engineer is their one connection to hopefully finding their relatives, even if it is only their remains. He is also the one connection to the government, who has done little to adress this issue.
As much as Israel Ticas’ work involves handling decomposed and often dismembered bodies, he pushes on. He has guts, no fiction here. To him, “death is awork of art.” He feels he owes the familues the effort in trying to find their loved ones. The disappeared have become his lost “friends.” He clearly states how the system (government) has to change because nothing has changed in El Salvador. Nothing has made the violence and disapperances decrease, like the government would like to make everyone believe.
The Engineer is a film that humanises the central issue of gang violence through the eyes of Israel Ticas. I had the pleasure of speaking with filmmakers Mathew Charles and Juan Passarelli to discuss the film in more detail, but also to learn more about Israel Ticas, El Salvador and their reasons for making the film. Not only do Charles and Passarelli have the professional background to take on this project, they also have the passion needed to make it come to fruition.
Below is a link to my interview/chat with Charles and Passarelli. Take it as a casual conversation, if you will, in that it allowed me to ask questions from the perspective of someone who is curious about the topic, Israel Ticas, Latin American politics, and also the filmmaking process. I make a point of mentioning the companion website to the film, which I hope you take a look at before of after seeing it, as it provides additional information on Ticas’ work, a history of gangs in El Salvador, and much more.
The Engineer premieres at Hot Docs tonight, Thursday, May 1st, 6pm at Scotiabank Theatre. It plays again on Friday, May 2nd and Friday, May 3rd. For information on screening venues and box office, go to hotdocs.ca.
