Sound of Freedom (film)
| Sound of Freedom | |
|---|---|
| File:The Sound of Freedom Poster.jpg | |
| Directed by | Alejandro Monteverde |
| Screenplay by |
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| Produced by | Eduardo Verastegui |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Gorka Gómez Andreu |
| Edited by | Brian Scofield |
| Music by | Javier Navarrete |
Production company | Santa Fe Films |
| Country | United States |
| Languages |
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Sound of Freedom is an upcoming American biographical action drama film directed by Alejandro Monteverde and starring Jim Caviezel, Mira Sorvino, and Bill Camp. Caviezel plays Tim Ballard, a self-styled anti-human trafficking activist and founder of the organization Operation Underground Railroad.
Plot
Sound of Freedom tells the story of Tim Ballard, a former operative, who quits his job as a Special Agent with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) to save children from cartels and human traffickers.[1] It takes a look into the child trafficking in Latin American countries, especially Mexico.[2] Ballard calls himself a modern day abolitionist[3] and in addition to saving these children he wants to get rid of the problem at the root. He says that America is the biggest consumer of this evil.[4] The story will show how Ballard went to Colombia to rescue 127 children from sexual abuse and misery.[5]
Cast
- Jim Caviezel as Tim Ballard
- Mira Sorvino as Katherine Ballard
- Bill Camp as Batman
- Kurt Fuller as Frost
- Gary Basaraba as Earl Buchanan
- José Zúñiga as Roberto
- Gerardo Taracena as El Alacrán
- Scott Haze as Chris
- Eduardo Verástegui as Paul[6]
- Javier Godino as Jorge
- Gustavo Sánchez Parra as El Calacas
Production
Pre-production
Jim Caviezel, before the shooting of the film, spent several days shadowing Tim Ballard and learning about Operation Underground Railroad's operations. He says that he was able to go to Latin America and witness an operation led by Ballard himself.[7]
The film is scored by the Spanish composer Javier Navarrete.[8]
Filming
Principal photography began in the summer of 2018. While some of Sound of Freedom was shot in the United States (Calexico, California),[9] most of the film was shot in Cartagena, Colombia.[10]
Myth vs. Reality
In a recent report by award winning investigative reporter Lynn Packer and Damion Moore of American Crime Journal, it was revealed that Tim Ballard lied about his involvement in the case and fabricated details to fit his child sex trafficking fantasies. The film begins with the arrest of Earl Venton Buchanan, which is the case that Tim Ballard claims was "confirmation from God" for him to begin his own child sex trafficking rescue organization Operation Underground Railroad. In the film, Tim Ballard rescues a kidnapped Mexican child from human trafficker Earl Buchanan at the border crossing in Calexico, California. The then five year-old child runs to Ballard and hands him a necklace, that was given to him by his sister before they were separated by sex traffickers. The necklace has a verse from the first book of Timothy. Ballard then quits the Department of Homeland Security to rescue the sister of the trafficked boy from a reputed Columbian drug lord. Ballard finds the boy's sister and kills the drug lord while posing as doctor.
In reality, the child was never kidnapped. Tim Ballard never rescued the child, three other Border Patrol agents rescued him. The child was an American citizen and Earl Venton Buchanan was a longtime friend of the family. On a return trip from Mexico, Buchanan forgot the boy's birth certificate and Border Patrol agents found a videotape of Buchanan molesting the child. The boy's sister was at home at the time of Buchanan's arrest. The victim was not a victim of trafficking, but child molestation court records show. The sister of the victim was never kidnapped nor was she ever the victim of sex trafficking.[11]
Release
Various dates were announced for the film's premiere, but each passed without a release taking place. Currently, the film does not have a release date.[12]
Jim Caviezel has stated that this was the second most important film he has ever done.[13] He ranks it behind his role as Jesus Christ in 2004's The Passion of the Christ.[3] Tim Ballard personally requested that Jim Caviezel portray him in the film; the producers were taken aback by the request and tried to convince him to select an actor who more closely resembled him.[14][13] However, Ballard was steadfast, saying that he was affected by Caviezel's roles in The Passion of the Christ and The Count of Monte Cristo.
References
- ^ "Sound of Freedom trailer released, focused on the fight against child exploitation".
- ^ "Operation Underground Railroad to be featured in new film 'The Sound of Freedom'".
- ^ a b "Jim Caviezel Stars in Hollywood Movie About Latter-Day Saint and Former CIA Agent Tim Ballard". LDS Living. September 10, 2018.
- ^ "The Candace Owens Show: Tim Ballard".
- ^ "Jim Caviezel and Eduardo Verástegui join forces in a new film about child trafficking".
- ^ "Actuará al lado de Jim Caviezel". November 1, 2019.
- ^ "Jim Caviezel Set to Play Role in Operation Underground Railroad Story 'The Sound of Freedom'".
- ^ "Javier Navarrete Scoring Alejandro Monteverde's 'Sound of Freedom'".
- ^ "PressReader.com - Your favorite newspapers and magazines". www.pressreader.com.
- ^ "Cartagena: A gorgeous location for movie makers".
- ^ https://americancrimejournal.com/the-arrest-of-earl-venton-buchanan/
- ^ Roundtree, Cheyenne (29 May 2021). "How Hollywood's 'Jesus' Jim Caviezel Went Full QAnon". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
- ^ a b Toone, Trent (June 4, 2018). "Actor Jim Caviezel set to play second most important role in O.U.R. story 'The Sound of Freedom'". Deseret News.
- ^ Borchert, Brittany (September 12, 2018). "Jim Caviezel Plays Tim Ballard in "The Sound of Freedom"".
External links
- Sound of Freedom at IMDb
- "Sound of Freedom". on The Numbers