Sound of Freedom

Movie finishes three days of filming in Calexico

CALEXICO — Seven-year-old Jason Solarez of Brawley was at the right place at the right time — among the photos stashed in his grandfather, Abbie’s, cell phone.

Abbie Solarez, who was serving as the local production manager on the set of a movie filming in Calexico, was showing off pictures of his grandson when he learned production hit a snag: a Colombian boy with a lead part in the film couldn’t get into the United States due to visa issues, and producers needed a replacement immediately.

It just so happened that Solarez’s grandson was the spitting image of the young actor playing the part of “Jose.”

“They asked, ‘Can your grandson be here today?’ I called his mom, she drove him to Calexico, they met with him and loved his energy, and he followed directions really well,” Solarez said. After meeting with the main producers of the film and the director, “he was cast on the spot,” Solarez said.

Now, the young boy will be billed as the “second Jose” in the feature film, “Sound of Freedom,” which recently shot for three days in Calexico.

Starring Jim Caviezel and Mira Sorvino, “Sound of Freedom” is the true story of retired U.S. Department of Homeland Security special agent Timothy Ballard, who spent several years undercover investigating child sex-trafficking. The film is set in Colombia and Calexico, among others areas of the United States.

“It was a case of being at the right place at the right time,” Solarez said.

Without revealing too much of the plot, Jason’s “Jose” is the young lead who is trafficked from Colombia, all the way up through Calexico, where he is found kidnapped at the downtown Calexico port by Ballard, played by Caviezel, who is best known for portraying Jesus in “The Passion of the Christ.”

The film also follows Ballard into his life as the man behind Operation Underground Railroad, an organization dedicated to stopping child sex-trafficking and human slavery around the world.

Filming locations for Aten Road, and the old downtown Calexico port of entry.

“Sound of Freedom” included a house in Calexico, a dirt road outside Calexico, the Department of Homeland Security on

About 35 locals were used as extras in the film, and five locals worked production. “They were my family,” Solarez said.

“Sound of Freedom” is slated for release in the spring or summer of 2019.

Meanwhile, Imperial County Film Commission Executive Director Charla Teeters Stewart estimates the film brought in around $97.500 in economic impact to the county.

“One of the reasons the Film Commission exists is to help productions come to the area like this and have a good filming experience, and hopefully draw more productions to the Imperial Valley,” she said.

COURTESY PHOTO ABBIE SOLAREZ Jason Solarez, 7, of brawley sits in a van that will be filmed as part of a scene in the movie “Sound of Freedom,” which was shot over the weekend in Calexico at the old downtown port of entry, among other locations.

COURTESY PHOTO ABBIE SOLAREZ Jason Solarez, 7, of brawley, stands with actor Jim Caviezel on the set of “Sound of Freedom,” which filmed over the weekend in Calexico at the old downtown port of entry, among other locations.

COURTESY PHOTO ABBIE SOLAREZ Actor Jim caviezel, portraying Homeland Security Special Agent timothy Ballard, carries Jason Solarez, 7, of Brawley in a scene being filmed for the movie “Sound of freedom,” which was shot over the weekend in calexico at the old downtown port of entry, among other locations.