‘Sound of Freedom’ Goes International After Domestic Success

Jim Caviezel, actor in the new human trafficking action film "Sound of Freedom,” speaks during an interview in Washington on June 21, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

The anti-child trafficking film “Sound of Freedom” is starting its international screenings in August after becoming a success in the United States.

Angel Studios, the film’s production company, posted its international schedules on Twitter. The movie is going to be screened in almost 20 countries in Central and South America, the United Kingdom and Ireland, Australia, and South Africa.

Angel Studios said that more countries are being added weekly.

The movie has beaten higher-budget Hollywood movies with its box office numbers reaching $133 million as of July 28, according to Box Office Mojo.

The movie had a budget of just $14.5 million.

In a comment to Newsweek, Angel Studios’ Jared Geesey said: “Since Sound of Freedom launched in the U.S., demand has been building around the world in dozens of regions and languages. Child trafficking is a global issue, and we hope to build on the incredible momentum here in the States and share the film’s powerful message worldwide.”

Mr. Geesey also said to Variety: “Sound of Freedom has become the people’s movie. This is the opposite of the top down system developed by Hollywood gatekeepers. We are empowering people to be part of choosing, funding, and sharing stories that amplify light and impact culture.”

“While the entire summer movie box office lineup is underperforming, our small independent film continues to grow week over week. Driven by millions of fans and supporters, Sound of Freedom has become a national—and soon international—movement for change,” Mr. Geesey said in a statement.

Image from the "Sound of Freedom" movie, starring Jim Caviezel. Courtesy Angel Studios

The film, which stars Jim Caviezel, addresses the rarely covered topic of child sex trafficking. The fact that it has succeeded at getting audiences to examine that heavy subject matter during what is the traditional summer movie season full of big action blockbusters and laugh-out-loud comedies has proven particularly remarkable to critics and analysts.

Also remarkable is the journey the film itself had to undergo to finally make it to audiences.

Angel Studios crowdfunded $5 million to distribute the movie after 20th Century Fox sold the rights to the film to the Walt Disney Company in 2019. Disney then shelved it. The film’s producer, Eduardo Verastegui, managed to get back the rights to eventually release it this year despite the fact the movie wrapped production in 2018.

Mr. Caviezel, in a special on-screen message upon the film’s conclusion, noted that the film “wasn’t released until now, with every roadblock that you can imagine being tossed in the way.”

Jim Caviezel (L), actor in the new human trafficking action film "Sound of Freedom,” and Tim Ballard (R), a former Department of Homeland Security special agent and founder of Operation Underground Railroad, speak during an interview in Washington on June 21, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

Goya Foods also helped Sound of Freedom with a donation of unknown size.

“We helped him [Mr. Verastegui] buy [“Sound of Freedom”] from Disney [and] became executive producers on that,” Robert Unanue, president of Goya Foods, told The Epoch Times in a phone interview. “It just so happened that several years later trying to get it distributed that Angel Studios appeared on the scene.”

Mr. Unanue criticized the Office of Refugee Resettlement, which couldn’t answer a House Oversight Committee’s questions over the 85,000 unaccompanied migrant children who have gone missing at the southern border over the past two years due to “flawed vetting of sponsors.”

“Who are these sponsors,” he asked, saying people will “take these kids and photograph them for pornography. They’ll sell them for sex. They’ll sell them for slavery. There’s so much money behind it.”

Goya owner Robert Unanue during an interview with The Epoch Times at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Fla., on Feb. 27, 2021. The Epoch Times

The film is based on the life of Tim Ballard, the founder of Operation Underground Railroad, which is dedicated to rescuing kids from sex trafficking operations.

Operation Underground Railroad said that much of the movie is true, including the Colombia rescue mission, but it said that some fictional parts were added to the movie. For example, it says that Mr. Ballard never actually killed anyone as the movie depicts.

Trump’s Screening

Former President Donald Trump hosted Mr. Caviezel and Mr. Ballard for a screening of the film last week at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.

“I hope you enjoyed it. It’s something I’m not sure if you’re supposed to enjoy or learn—it’s a combination. But that was a great movie,” Mr. Trump said after the film ended. “Now I understand why it’s doing so well.”

Mr. Trump also remarked that “it’s been pretty crazy out there,” noting, “It’s a vicious world.”

“These are vicious people; these are very sick people—they’re deranged. We have a lot of them out who really don’t stand for what we stand for. But for some reason, the public understands it better than they’ve ever understood it before and are stepping up like I’ve never seen before,” he said.

T.J. Muscaro, Carly Mayberry, and Jack Phillips contributed to this report.