 "Photo: Matt Andrew/ The Quad News")
A wall can be a symbol of protection or separation. It can create a barrier or act as a security measure. In the documentary film “The Wall” by Ricardo Martinez, a wall along the border of Mexico and the United States has come to represent the complex issues of immigration, national security, ecology and even eminent domain.
The political science, sociology and theater departments, as well as the Albert Schweitzer Institute sponsored a screening of the film on Feb 22.
“We were going to do this whole thing about the broken immigration system or the things that were working in the immigration system,” Martinez said. “The story of the wall kind of just took on its own life.”
Martinez filmed for two and half years, chronicling the development of the Secure Fence Act, a project that created the complex patchwork of fences, walls and barriers along the almost 2,000 mile long border between the United States and Mexico. The act was signed in October 2006, and Martinez began filming soon after.
“People say why ‘didn’t you film this or that,’ and a lot of times we did,” Martinez said. “I’m not really into watching three hours of someone talk at the camera. I want to see a story. You can only talk about this stuff in the world the characters live in.”
“The Wall” follows the story of homeowners in the border town of Granjeno, Texas, a county sheriff in Arizona, immigrants from Central America, an environmentalist, a golf course owner and others. The film focuses chiefly on the people affected by the fence inside the United States.
“The movie is about America,” Martinez said. “What are Americans doing on the border?”
One of the main themes of Martinez’s film is the challenge of communication, whether it’s communication between Mexican and American citizens, or American citizens and government leaders. Martinez was particularly thankful to the interviews granted to him and his production team by a sheriff in a border county in Arizona.
“Once we had a full sheriff on board that thought we were really trying to show what was going on, that we weren’t going to book end it or do it to fulfill our own means,” Martinez said. “We were actually going to try to tell what he was dealing with. He was very excited to have us out there.”
A native of California, Martinez said the project challenged many of his expectations and ideas about life along the border.
“I’ve been across the border,” Martinez said. “Everybody’s got their own preconceptions. What are these people going to be like when you get down there? You just got to have them. The main thing I always told myself was that I don’t know everything.”
Senior film, video and interactive media major Jeff Marlowe said he appreciated the filmmaker’s visit.
“Martinez was once in our shoes,” Marlowe said. “Through his work, production students can see how the techniques they are learning now can be used in the future. And [we] also get inspiration about new ideas from watching a filmmaker's point of view on a subject they are probably very familiar with.”
For senior English and education major Colleen Kennedy, the screening was a chance to learn.
“I was not aware of how the government tried to take away land from Americans living along the border in order to build the wall,” Kennedy said. “I also was not fully aware of the extent of groups, people and officials along the border that do not support the building of the fence.”
Kennedy will be traveling with other students and the Albert Schweitzer Institute to Nicaragua over spring break. “The Wall” offered some perspective into the lives of the people she’ll be working with and the greater global community.
“Many people crossing the border come from countries other than Mexico, including Nicaragua,” Kennedy said. “Through working and helping Nicaraguans, we have really begun to think of their problems and communities as our own. Through watching the movie, I hoped to better understand the relation that has developed between the United States and people trying to cross the border.”
For the filmmaker, using an even hand and discovering real concerns along America’s southern border was at the heart of his project.
“The most interesting parts of a story are when someone proves you wrong, or when they are a little different than you thought,” Martinez said.
“The Wall” will be available on DVD/video in April. For more information, visit www.thewalldocumentary.com.
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