Washington D.C., Jul 28, 2023 / 13:10 pm

Mexican actor and film producer Eduardo Verástegui was on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, July 25, to show his new film “Sound of Freedom” and call for bipartisan congressional action to account for tens of thousands of children and teens who entered the U.S. and remain unaccounted for, citing fears that they may be trapped in human trafficking.

“Sound of Freedom,” directed by Alejando Monteverde, stars Jim Caviezel and tells the fictionalized story of Tim Ballard — a real-life former U.S. federal agent who quit his job to rescue children from international sex trafficking — who goes undercover to save a young girl from drug dealers and traffickers in the jungles of Colombia.

In real life, Ballard later founded Operation Underground Railroad (O.U.R.), which has reportedly rescued thousands of children around the world from trafficking.

Since its release on July 4, the film has made more than $127 million in box office receipts and even bested the latest “Indiana Jones” film. Production costs for the PG-13 film totaled about $14.5 million, largely paid by Mexican investors.

The Capitol Hill screening was sponsored by Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-California, who was joined by Rep. Christopher Smith, R-New Jersey, on stage. Other members of Congress were in attendance as well as former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and his wife, Calista Gingrich. Ballard and Caviezel were also at the screening.

“We are making history tonight,” McCarthy said at the event. “The film that we are showing on Capitol Hill today addresses issues that are so urgent and important to which we must all commit ourselves.”

According to Verástegui: “The main objective of the film is to raise awareness about the trafficking of minors for sexual exploitation, but we didn’t stop there. The film has the potential to trigger a global movement, with real solutions, leading to concrete actions that help us save children.”

Verástegui pointed out that nearly 85,000 Latin American children and adolescents, unaccompanied by adults, were admitted into the U.S. in 2022 alone. (According to government sources, some 130,000 migrant minors entered the country in 2021 and 2022, of which 85,000 are as yet unaccounted for.) The federal government has admitted that it doesn’t know their condition or whereabouts, having neglected to properly identify and care for them.

“I am hopeful that it is still possible to find them, but we have to act immediately before it is too late,” Verástegui said. “That is why we are asking the U.S. Congress to pass a bipartisan initiative as quickly as possible. The Sound of Freedom initiative calls for authorities and officials entrusted with the care of children entering the country to have an exhaustive, effective, and real control over those who receive them.”

Roger Severino of the Heritage Foundation, who was present for the screening, told CNA that “Sound of Freedom” was hard to watch. “It moved the audience to tears. I saw members of Congress actually crying at the movie because it was so powerful.”

Severino said it was also powerful when Verástegui brought draft legislation to Smith that would require the FBI and other federal agencies to find children who were left alone at the border and released from U.S. custody. The children, he said, were turned over to “sponsors which, we have reason to believe, were not vetted and were not fingerprinted. Now we don’t know where 85,000 of those kids are, nor their condition.”

Severino joined members of Smith’s staff to write the draft legislation to address sex trafficking. Smith is expected to introduce it during the current legislative session. According to Severino, if the proposed legislation is approved, it would require the FBI and various federal agencies to report on the status of the missing children.

Verástegui, who is considering a possible run in his native country’s presidential election, said: “I bring the heart of Mexico with me here, to the heart of America, to you, the most important decision-makers in the country. And in the name of all the children of my country and of the children of all Latin America who have been hurt by this crime of trafficking, especially the more than 85,000 who have disappeared in this country, I ask you to do what is in your power to find them.”

While some legacy media have labeled the film “right-wing” and Ballard’s strategies have been questioned by other anti-trafficking groups, “Sound of Freedom” has been seen by more than 12 million in the U.S. and is due to be released in South Africa on Aug. 18, New Zealand and Australia on Aug. 24, and in Latin America on Aug. 31. In September it will be shown in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and in October in Spain.

Film distributor Angel Studios, which is also responsible for “The Chosen,” has received requests for distribution from more than 90 countries worldwide.

Production of the film started in 2015 and was completed in 2019. The pandemic — and refusals by Disney, Netflix, and Amazon to distribute the film — delayed the film’s release, leading to a commitment by Angel Studios to get it to viewers.

It was No. 1 on the day it premiered in U.S. theaters on July 4 and on July 10 and 11, beating other popular movies such as Disney’s “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.”

The film scored 70% on Rotten Tomatoes. Film reviewer Nestor Betancor called it “a competently crafted and acted dramatic thriller that effectively puts a spotlight on a tragic real-life issue.”

Owen Gleiberman of Variety Magazine wrote: “Let’s assume that, like me, you’re not a right-wing fundamentalist conspiracy theorist looking for a dark, faith-based suspense film to see over the holiday weekend … Even then, you needn’t hold extreme beliefs to experience ‘Sound of Freedom’ as a compelling movie that shines an authentic light on one of the crucial criminal horrors of our time, one that Hollywood has mostly shied away from.”