Just like for the American Tim Ballard It is impossible to count in the 135 minutes How long does the tape last? sound of freedom his extensive work against child abuse and exploitation was a challenge for this newspaper take advantage of the seven minutes we had face to face with this character -during the premiere of the band in Guayaquil last Thursday September 7 in Supercines Entre Ríos– to ask anything our readers want to know about the production with Jim Caviezel, Eduardo Verástegui, Yessica Borroto, among other things.

That night, Ballard was kind enough to host this media outlet in a set drawn up by an entire team in which Each member – as we perceive it – is confident that their work on this film transcends an audiovisual production and contributes to a greater mission.

sound of freedom is showing in Ecuadorian cinemas since August 31 last year and tells the journey of Ballard (Jim Caviezel) to get out of the system and legislation established until then, when it becomes an obstacle to the rescue of two minors, Miguel (Lucas Ávila) and Rocío (Cristal Aparicio), at the hands of a child trafficking network.

How difficult was it to summarize your work in a two-hour (and slightly longer) film and why did you choose Rocío’s case?

The truth is that my teams and I have been involved in more than 1,000 operations. I didn’t choose this cause, they did the director Alejandro Monteverde and Eduardo Verástegui, the producer, they chose it. Because they wanted to make a movie about this, they took me to a cabin in the mountains of Utah and For two days I told them everything I had done and they chose this story.

And now that it’s coming to the big screen, what impact do you think Rocío’s story will have on those who see the film?

The impact will change everything. I have been involved in this fight for almost 20 years and the biggest challenge for me has always been to open my eyes, to open people’s consciousness, because people don’t want to see it. because it’s an ugly subject. But with this film something different happens, people want to see it, He wants to know what threat there is to children all over the world and to me that is a miracle because people are coming to the cinemas. Eight years ago I told the producer and director that they shouldn’t make this movie because no one would see it, but they replied, ‘I don’t care what you say, Tim. God told us and we are going to do it.”

What terrible reality brought him to our country?

When Russia attacked Ukraine, my wife (Katherine) called me to tell me to go help orphanages find families in the United States, and I told her how to go while the Russian bombs were falling, but a few minutes later I got another one. called and it was Mel Gibson and he asked me the same thing. And now I don’t have time to explain everything because everything will appear in a documentary, but we found a trail in Ukraine of some pedophiles from the Netherlands who had already been arrested, but were now hiding as fugitives in Mexico and Ecuador. They had a hotel where They invited male children aged 10 or younger. We received that information and we worked with the National Police, the US Embassy and the Public Prosecution Service, who gave us a search warrant and we entered that hotel and found the pedophiles, and now they have already been sentenced to prison and the children, insurance . A few weeks ago we returned to provide more support to these vulnerable children. We still don’t know who was the victim of direct sexual abuse, and they will be willing to say what happened, but we are here to support them, give them food and everything they need.

Finally, what message would you give to people who, after seeing this film, feel motivated to take better care of their youth, but have limited resources.

Anyone can pray and anyone can be a storyteller, anyone can message through their social networks to go see the film, and in every region, including here, there are organizations that need support, that need resources. Find them, help them and support them. They are the experts in their region to locate, rescue and provide aftercare to victims of human trafficking, a crime that is growing more than any other crime in the world.