'Sound of Freedom' Movie Takes a Stand on Human Trafficking

"When God tells you what to do, you cannot hesitate."

PROVO, Utah – As America celebrates another year of freedom and independence, communities near and far will come together to demonstrate their pomp and pageantry via parades, family picnics, and enough star-spangled fireworks displays to light our nation for several days. 

Yet, despite this fanfare that we demonstrate on an annual basis, we must ask ourselves, is each and every American truly free?

Consider these staggering statistics:

• 15,000 to 50,000 women are forced into sexual slavery in the United States each year.
• 1.2 million children are trafficked each year.
• The average age of a human trafficking victim is 12 years old.

Seeking to drastically increase the degree of awareness surrounding human trafficking in the United States, Angel Studios is set to release the new movie Sound of Freedom on July 4th. Astoundingly, the movie has already topped $10 million dollars in pre-sales. Starring Jim Caviezel (The Passion of the Christ), Eduardo Verastegui (Bella), and Mira Sorvino (Mighty Aphrodite), the Alejandro Monteverde directed film tells the incredible true story of former government agent Tim Ballard turned freedom fighter who takes on a dangerous mission to rescue dozens of children from human trafficking.

“I think this movie is a once in a century type of story, and it's so important at this time that the world is embracing it and responding to it in a way that will ignite the movement to end child trafficking,” says Angel Studios CEO Neal Harmon, who has also piloted other successful projects like The Chosen. "Because this is a beautiful film in and of itself, regardless of the mission and the message, it's compelling. It's the edge of your seat riveting. It is inspiring. It's, it's, it amplifies light.”

The genesis for Sound of Freedom actually began eight years ago when Monteverde and screenwriter Rod Barr traveled to Ballard’s home and listened intently as the former Homeland Security agent shared his heart-wrenching story of risking his life and others to rescue children who had been ensnared in the dark, horrific world of human trafficking. The production process was painstakingly slow, ultimately marred by the world essentially shutting down due to COVID-19. Despite all the stops and starts, Monteverde believes this movie is releasing at just the right time.

“I try to live my life in surrender mode, and I was very frustrated why the movie was not coming out before,” explains Monteverde, who has also directed the award-winning films Bella and Little Boy.  “But right now is the perfect time because people are open and there's an awareness right now that needed to happen before they were exposed to this film. So, it's perfect timing. If this movie had come out before, I don't think the audience would've been ready for a film like this.”

Ballard, who is portrayed in the film as heroic and courageous for what he risked in rescuing 120 children who were being trafficked, sees a problem that will only exacerbate itself and multiply exponentially if major steps are not taken very soon to radically decrease it.

“We have a problem on our southern border where 85,000 children, some thousands of them under five years old, have arrived unaccompanied,” says Ballard, who spent more than a decade working as a Special Agent for the Department of Homeland Security, where he was assigned to the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. “And they are being allowed into a country that has the highest consumption of child rape videos in the world. This is the economy of evil. This film depicts a real operation that kicks off at the southern border. I want people to see this connection. The timing is right for them to see this.”

Oscar-winning actress Mira Sorvino, who plays Katherine Ballard, Tim’s wife in Sound of Freedom, has been working diligently in the fight against human trafficking since 2004, including serving as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations. She believes we must ultimately look to our faith for the solution to such horrific trafficking that is plaguing our world.

“Jesus said, we have to fight for justice and stand with the oppressed and that little children were the most important to Jesus,” shares Sorvino, who won an Oscar for her role in the 1995 release, Mighty Aphrodite. "If we turn our backs on this, then I think we are really moral failures. I think we all have to just be like, okay, there's a problem. What can we each do to fix it? And everybody has a talent that they can contribute to help end slavery in our time.”

Ultimately, the goal for Sound of Freedom is to create a heightened awareness about human trafficking, so much so that people will be compelled to take action when they leave the theater. The idea is one becomes two becomes an army dedicated to refusing to let evil triumph. Doing so could eradicate a problem that has destroyed so many lives and families to date.

“This is a film you can't forget very easily,” Ballard shares. “You wake up the next morning, you're still thinking about it. Three days later you're still thinking about it.”

Adds Monteverde, “After you see this film, I hope you are motivated and inspired to attempt or to try to create a difference. You can create a difference just by talking about the subject matter (from this movie). That's the focus: to get people talking about this issue.”

“I hope people will pause and take time to listen to their heart after the movie and write down what they feel inspired that they should do within their sphere of influence,” concludes Harmon. “And if all who watch this movie do this, I think that our grandchildren will look back at this and say this was the end of child trafficking.”

Sound of Freedom opens on July 4th in theaters nationwide.

WATCH A TRAILER FOR SOUND OF FREEDOM: