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Caviezel has stated that this was the second most important film he has ever done, ranking it behind his role as ] in ''The Passion of the Christ''.<ref name=wst3>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ldsliving.com/Jim-Caviezel-Stars-in-New-Movie-About-Latter-Day-Saint-and-Former-CIA-Agent-Tim-Ballard/s/89231|title=Jim Caviezel Stars in Hollywood Movie About Latter-Day Saint and Former CIA Agent Tim Ballard|date=September 10, 2018|website=LDS Living}}</ref>.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.deseret.com/2018/6/4/20646317/actor-jim-caviezel-set-to-play-second-most-important-role-in-o-u-r-story-the-sound-of-freedom|title=Actor Jim Caviezel set to play second most important role in O.U.R. story 'The Sound of Freedom'|first=Trent|last=Toone|date=June 4, 2018|website=Deseret News}}</ref> Caviezel has stated that this was the second most important film he has ever done, ranking it behind his role as ] in ''The Passion of the Christ''.<ref name=wst3>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ldsliving.com/Jim-Caviezel-Stars-in-New-Movie-About-Latter-Day-Saint-and-Former-CIA-Agent-Tim-Ballard/s/89231|title=Jim Caviezel Stars in Hollywood Movie About Latter-Day Saint and Former CIA Agent Tim Ballard|date=September 10, 2018|website=LDS Living}}</ref>.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.deseret.com/2018/6/4/20646317/actor-jim-caviezel-set-to-play-second-most-important-role-in-o-u-r-story-the-sound-of-freedom|title=Actor Jim Caviezel set to play second most important role in O.U.R. story 'The Sound of Freedom'|first=Trent|last=Toone|date=June 4, 2018|website=Deseret News}}</ref>

==Controversies==
===Accuracy===
While the film is purportedly based on real events involving Ballard's O.U.R., the accounts of those events have been questioned by researchers and reporters. In a 2020 expose, '']'' says that Ballard embellished O.U.R.'s role in the rescue of a trafficked woman.<ref name="vice">{{cite news |last1=Merlan |first1=Anna |title=A Famed Anti-Sex Trafficking Group Has a Problem With the Truth |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/k7a3qw/a-famed-anti-sex-trafficking-group-has-a-problem-with-the-truth |access-date=24 December 2020 |work=www.vice.com |date=10 December 2020 |language=en |archive-date=24 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201224001855/https://www.vice.com/en/article/k7a3qw/a-famed-anti-sex-trafficking-group-has-a-problem-with-the-truth |url-status=live }}</ref> A 2021 follow-up article further criticized O.U.R.'s practices, including using inexperienced donors and celebrities as part of its jump team, a lack of meaningful surveillance or identification of targets, failing to validate whether the people they intended to rescue were in fact actual trafficking victims, and conflating consensual ] with sex trafficking.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Inside a Massive Anti-Trafficking Charity's Blundering Overseas Missions|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/bvxev5/inside-a-massive-anti-trafficking-charitys-blundering-overseas-missions|access-date=2021-06-05|website=www.vice.com|date=8 March 2021 |language=en|archive-date=2021-05-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210513052432/https://www.vice.com/en/article/bvxev5/inside-a-massive-anti-trafficking-charitys-blundering-overseas-missions|url-status=live}}</ref> A 2021 article in Slate criticised a 2014 raid conducted by O.U.R. in the Dominican Republic, saying that it was likely to have traumatized the trafficked children. ], an authority on human trafficking, wrote in 2015 that O.U.R. had an “alarming lack of understanding about how sophisticated criminal trafficking networks must be approached and dismantled” and called the work of O.U.R “arrogant, unethical and illegal".<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Conley |first=Meg |date=2021-05-11 |title=Called by God |language=en-US |work=Slate |url=https://slate.com/human-interest/2021/05/sex-trafficking-raid-operation-underground-railroad.html |access-date=2023-05-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210601042815/https://slate.com/human-interest/2021/05/sex-trafficking-raid-operation-underground-railroad.html |archive-date=June 2021 |issn=1091-2339}}</ref>

Investigative journalists Lynn Packer and Damion Moore of ''American Crime Journal'' reported that Tim Ballard lied about his involvement in the case portrayed in the film and fabricated details about his child sex trafficking activities.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://americancrimejournal.com/the-arrest-of-earl-venton-buchanan/ | title=The Arrest of Earl Venton Buchanan | date=5 September 2022 }}</ref>

===Connections to QAnon conspiracy theory===
While promoting the film at the April 2021 “Health and Freedom Conference”, an ] event in ], Jim Caviezel endorsed some elements of the ] conspiracy theory.<ref>{{Citation |title='Passion of the Christ' star pushes false QAnon theory - CNN Video |date=19 April 2021 |url=https://www.cnn.com/videos/media/2021/04/19/jim-caviezel-theory-donie-osullivan-qanon-pkg-newday-vpx.cnn |access-date=2021-05-06}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=April 20, 2021 |title=Star of Mel Gibson's 'Passion of the Christ' Pushes Unhinged QAnon Conspiracy at Conservative Conference |url=https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/star-of-passion-of-the-christ-pushes-qanon-conspiracy-theory-conservative-conference |access-date=2021-05-06 |website=Complex |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{citation |title=Actor Jim Caviezel appeared at a right-wing CONVID conspiracy theorist conference |date=April 17, 2021 |url=https://twitter.com/ehananoki/status/1383419877881303045 |work=Twitter |access-date=April 17, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{citation |title=April 16th & 17th – Conference Itinerary |date=April 16, 2021 |url=https://www.thrivetimeshow.com/april-conference-itinerary/ |work=The ThriveTime Show |access-date=April 17, 2021}}</ref> Caviezel mentioned that Ballard was supposed to be appearing at the conference but was "saving victims of trafficking" who were victims of "], an imaginary practice whose existence is suggested by QAnon adherents.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Owen |first1=Phil |title='Passion of the Christ' Star Jim Caviezel Pushes False QAnon Conspiracy at Right-Wing Conference (Video) |url=https://uk.movies.yahoo.com/passion-christ-star-jim-caviezel-181252180.html |website=uk.movies.yahoo.com |access-date=19 May 2023 |date=17 April 2021}}</ref> Caviezel suggested he had seen evidence of children being subjected to the practice.<ref>Citations:
*{{Cite magazine|last=Hoffman|first=Jordan|title=Jim Caviezel Decries "The Adrenochroming of Children," As If That's a Thing|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2021/04/jim-caviezel-decries-the-adrenochroming-of-children-as-if-thats-a-thing|access-date=2021-05-01|magazine=Vanity Fair|language=en-US}}
*{{Cite web|date=2021-04-19|title='Passion Of The Christ' actor thinks kids are being drained for blood|url=https://www.nme.com/news/film/actor-who-played-jesus-in-passion-of-the-christ-thinks-kids-are-being-drained-for-blood-2923367|access-date=2021-05-01|website=NME|language=en-GB}}
*{{Cite web|title='Passion of the Christ' Star Jim Caviezel Pushes False QAnon Conspiracy at Right-Wing Conference (Video)|url=https://sg.style.yahoo.com/passion-christ-star-jim-caviezel-181252180.html|access-date=2021-05-01|website=sg.style.yahoo.com|date=April 17, 2021 |language=en-SG}}
*{{citation|title=The Roots of 'Pedophile Ring|date=September 2, 2018|url=https://www.snopes.com/news/2018/09/02/roots-pedophile-ring-conspiracy-theories/|work=Snopes|access-date=April 17, 2021}}</ref> The event also included appearances by other QAnon promoters, such as ]<ref>{{Cite web|first=Darragh|last=Roche|date=April 17, 2021|title=Lin Wood's QAnon gesture sends audience wild during Oklahoma conference|url=https://www.newsweek.com/lin-woods-qanon-gesture-sends-audience-wild-during-oklahoma-conference-1584390|access-date=May 6, 2021|website=Newsweek|language=en}}</ref> and ].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Rosenberg|first=Matthew|date=2021-02-06|title=Pushing QAnon and Stolen Election Lies, Flynn Re-emerges|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/06/us/politics/michael-flynn-qanon.html|access-date=2021-05-06|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>


==References== ==References==

Revision as of 08:56, 22 June 2023

2022 American film by Alejandro Monteverde

Sound of Freedom
File:The Sound of Freedom Poster.jpgTheatrical release poster
Directed byAlejandro Monteverde
Written by
  • Rod Barr
  • Alejandro Monteverde
Produced byEduardo Verastegui
Starring
Cinematography
  • Gorka Gómez
  • Andreu Aec
Edited byBrian Scofield
Music byJavier Navarrete
Production
company		Santa Fe Films
Distributed byAngel Studios
Release dates
  • November 9, 2022 (2022-11-09) (Coronado)
  • July 4, 2023 (2023-07-04) (United States)
Running time135 minutes
CountryUnited States
Languages
  • English
  • Spanish

Sound of Freedom is a 2022 American action drama film directed and co-written by Alejandro Monteverde. It stars Jim Caviezel, Mira Sorvino, and Bill Camp. Caviezel plays Tim Ballard, a former government agent turned vigilante who embarks on a mission to rescue children from sex traffickers in Colombia. The film premiered at the 2022 Coronado Island Film Festival, and will be released on July 4, 2023, by Angel Studios.

Plot

Tim Ballard, a former operative, quits his job as a Special Agent with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) to become a vigilante and embarks on a mission to rescue children from cartels and human traffickers in Latin America.

Cast

Production

Development

Sound of Freedom was inspired by Tim Ballard's assertions that he is an activist against child trafficking (Ballard also founded Operation Underground Railroad, or O.U.R.).

Eduardo Verastegui met Ballard and felt called to make the film to raise awareness of the sex trafficking industry.

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. However, Ballard was steadfast, saying that he was affected by Caviezel's roles in The Count of Monte Cristo (2002) and The Passion of the Christ (2004).

Caviezel, before the shooting of the film, spent several days shadowing Ballard and learning about O.U.R.'s operations. He says that he was able to go to Latin America and witness an operation led by Ballard himself.

The film was scored by the Spanish composer Javier Navarrete.

According to Angel Studios CEO Neal Harmon, the film was originally going to be released by 20th Century Fox, but shelved by Disney when they acquired 20th Century Fox. The filmmakers spent a year trying to get the rights back. Angel Studios acquired distribution rights in 2023.

Filming

Principal photography began in the summer of 2018. While some of Sound of Freedom was shot in the United States (Calexico, California), most of the film was shot in Cartagena, Colombia.

Release

Sound of Freedom premiered at the 2022 Coronado Island Film Festival, which ran from November 9-13.

On March 30, 2023, Variety reported that Angel Studios had acquired the rights to distribute the film worldwide, with a planned release during the second half of 2023. It is due to be released theatrically in the United States on July 4, 2023.

Caviezel has stated that this was the second most important film he has ever done, ranking it behind his role as Jesus Christ in The Passion of the Christ..

References

  1. ^ "Angel Studios Acquires Rights to Jim Caviezel Drama 'Sound of Freedom' Ahead of Theatrical Release (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. March 30, 2023.
  2. "Sound of Freedom trailer released, focused on the fight against child exploitation".
  3. "Operation Underground Railroad to be featured in new film 'The Sound of Freedom'".
  4. "Actuará al lado de Jim Caviezel". November 1, 2019.
  5. Merlan, Anna; Marchman, Tim (June 10, 2021). "Operation Underground Railroad's Carefully Crafted Public Image Is Falling Apart". Vice. Retrieved June 21, 2023.
  6. "Jim Caviezel and Eduardo Verástegui join forces in a new film about child trafficking". August 19, 2020.
  7. Borchert, Brittany (September 12, 2018). "Jim Caviezel Plays Tim Ballard in "The Sound of Freedom"".
  8. ^ 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.
  9. "Jim Caviezel Set to Play Role in Operation Underground Railroad Story 'The Sound of Freedom'". January 26, 2020.
  10. "Javier Navarrete Scoring Alejandro Monteverde's 'Sound of Freedom'".
  11. The Walt Disney Company Reportedly Shelved Anti-Child Trafficking Film ‘Sound Of Freedom’ After Obtaining Rights In Merger With Fox
  12. "Sound of Freedom" – via PressReader.
  13. "Cartagena: A gorgeous location for movie makers".
  14. Managing Editor (October 4, 2022). "The Coronado Island Film Festival Announces 2022 Program Slate". The Coronado Times. Retrieved June 21, 2023. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  15. Ramachandran, Naman (May 12, 2023). "Jim Caviezel in Human Trafficking Thriller 'Sound of Freedom': Watch First Trailer (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
  16. "Jim Caviezel Stars in Hollywood Movie About Latter-Day Saint and Former CIA Agent Tim Ballard". LDS Living. September 10, 2018.

External links

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