Private Project

The Marker

Over 3000 migrants have died trying to cross the Sonoran Desert. The only marker for where their anonymous bodies were found: a red dot on a digital map. Artist Alvaro Enciso is on a mission to mark the places these people died, to find a way to honour his "neighbours" and create a visual remembrance of their struggle. For the past 9 years he has been placing home made crosses in the desert, leaving a signpost that a human being lost their life in this place. He's placed more than 900 of these markers and yet it's a task he will not complete in his lifetime.

  • Will Francome
    Director
    The Penalty, One For Ten, Last Chance Lawyer
  • Katie Green
    Director
    The Family I had, The Dead Mothers Club, 1275
  • Laura Shacham
    Producer
    The Penalty, The Mortician of Manilla, One For Ten
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Genres:
    Politics, art, human interest
  • Runtime:
    12 minutes 30 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    February 22, 2020
  • Production Budget:
    8,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital 4K
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.35
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Arizona International Film Festival
    Tucson, Arizona
    United States
    October 6, 2020
    Arizona Premiere
  • Brooklyn Film Festival
    Brooklyn, New York
    United States
    May 28, 2020
Director Biography - Will Francome, Katie Green

Will Francome and Katie Green both began their documentary careers by writing the critically acclaimed feature "In Prison My Whole Life" (Sundance 2005).
Katie went on to found Smoke & Apple Films with Carlye Rubin and the duo co-directed 'The Dead Mothers Club' (HBO Documentary Films), 'The Family I Had' (Discovery ID) and '1275 Days' (Doc NYC 2019) which will be released this year.
Will has been directing shorts and series like webby-nominated One For Ten (Raindance Film Festival ) feature-length documentary 'The Penalty' as well as directing documentary series for the BBC, Amazon and Discovery amongst others.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Whether it’s climate change, coronavirus or the migrant crisis, these are troubling times and we are faced with deeply complicated issues that leave many of us confused as to what to do and how to play our own part.  . . . . what inspired us about Alvaro Enciso is that he has found his way to express his feelings and frustrations in an artistic way and is doing it in an inspirational and physical way. We’re honoured to share ‘The Marker’ with audiences around the world and look forward to the conversations that this film can instill.