On the 9th of September, 2023 I went to see Sound Of Freedom at Cineworld Birmingham, Broad Street. I got to see this free thanks to the generosity of its distributor Angel Studios and their How You Can Help page. Click here to purchase tickets to give away yourself, buy tickets for yourself or claim a free ticket (like I did) from the kind people who purchased said tickets themselves to give away.
This movie is shocking and disturbing to watch as its content is about paedophilia and child sex trafficking, but not, thankfully, in a graphic way. It doesn’t need to do that. The truth sells itself here. It isn’t like most films these days, woke, it simply tells a story and does it well. A rarity these days. It is thought-provoking and leaves you feeling happy and sad at the same time. You feel happy for Tim Ballard, excellently played by Jim Caviezel, when he succeeds at what he is doing but then you feel sad for the children and the terrible things they go through. Those terrible things happen far too often and in staggering numbers.
Some people left the cinema when the credits started rolling and missed an important message by Caviezel at the end of the film. It was just as moving as the film was and the audience clapped and so did I.
This is a well-produced film with very good cinematography, very good acting, very good editing and very good music that captures the mood of the film so well.
I recommend anyone with children to watch this film and if their kids go to big school, they watch it too when it comes out on DVD (if it is allowed to that is), you won’t be sorry you did.
Below is information about who the film is about, Tim Ballard.
About Tim Ballard
Tim Ballard was born in 1976 and is an American entrepreneur and author. He is the founder and former C.E.O. of Operation Underground Railroad an anti-sex trafficking organization, and the author of several books. The 2023 American action film Sound of Freedom starring Jim Caviezel was inspired by the work of Ballard.
Tim Ballard speaking with attendees at the 2023 Turning Point Action Conference at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Early Life And Education
Ballard grew up in California. As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he served a two-year mission to Chile. Afterwards, he attended Brigham Young University and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and political science. He then obtained a Master of Arts in international politics from the Monterey Institute of International Studies, graduating summa cum laude.
Career
Operation Underground Railroad
Ballard founded the non-profit organization Operation Underground Railroad (O.U.R.) in 2013. He has credited his organisation with rescuing thousands of trafficking victims. He briefed politicians on the issue of child sex trafficking including special advisor to the President, Ivanka Trump, in October 2017. As of 2014, Ballard trained Imperial County Sheriff’s Office personnel in the use of data mining software that led to the arrest of a man suspected of distributing child pornography. Ballard testified before the United States Congress House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Global Human Rights during which he recommended procedures and practices for rescuing children from trafficking rings. The hearing focused on partnerships between the U.S. government and non-governmental organizations that rescue trafficking victims. On March the 6th, 2019, Ballard testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee about U.S. Mexico border security and its relation to child sex trafficking.
Ballard was appointed to the White House Public Private Partnership Advisory Council to End Human Trafficking in 2019. The Council was terminated on September the 30th, 2020.
In October 2020, the Attorney’s Office of Davis County, Utah initiated an investigation into complaints that O.U.R. and Ballard had conducted illegal fundraising efforts. No charges were filed and the investigation was closed on March the 28th, 2023.
Ballard parted with O.U.R. in 2023.
Personal Life
Ballard and his wife Katherine have been married for over 20 years with nine children, two of whom were adopted from a sting operation in Haiti. They first met at Brigham Young University. As of 2015, the family resided in Utah and Ballard was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
In Popular Culture
Ballard has been interviewed on multiple news outlets including Fox News Sunday, The Meredith Vieira Show, CBS Evening News, ABC’s Nightline, HLN, MSNBC, The Glenn Beck Program and with Tim Pool on the TimcastIRL podcast, as well as many local news shows.
The 2016 documentary The Abolitionists, produced by Gerald Molen, featured the first operations undertaken by Ballard and Operation Underground Railroad. Another documentary from director Nick Nanton, Operation Toussaint, was produced in 2018 and featured an operation in Haiti that had the support of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse and former U.S. congresswoman Mia Love of Utah. The film was adapted into a book and released the following year.
The 2018 documentary Operation Toussaint and the 2020 documentary Triple Take were also based on Ballard’s work against sex trafficking.
E.S.P.N. featured Ballard and Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin in a piece which highlighted the restavek issue near the border of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Tomlin would also write the foreword to Ballard’s book Slave Stealers: True Accounts of Slave Rescues – Then and Now.
A feature film, Sound of Freedom, starring Jim Caviezel as Ballard, was announced in 2018 and released in cinemas in 2023.
Ballard started The Tim Ballard Podcast in June 2023.
Awards
Ballard won the 2017 Social Entrepreneur Award at the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2017 Utah Region Awards.
Read more about Tim Ballard here.
You can read about the film distributor here.
Blog Posts
Films: Angel Studios.
Films: Sound Of Freedom.
Notes And Links
Article source: Wikipedia and is subject to change.
The image shown at the top of this page is copyright of Wikipedia user Gage Skidmore. It comes with a Creative Commons licence (CC BY 2.0). You can find more great work from him by clicking here.
Angel Studios – Official website.
Angel Studios on Facebook.
Tim Ballard – Official website.
Operation Underground Railroad – Official website. O.U.R. lead the fight against child sex trafficking and sexual exploitation around the globe. Their work has no boundaries. They go to the darkest corners of the world to assist law enforcement in rescuing children and ensure ongoing aftercare. They provide critical resources to law enforcement and preventative efforts that benefit at-risk children worldwide. Their resolve never falters, and they will faithfully persevere until every child is safe.
Operation Underground Railroad On Facebook.
Operation Underground Railroad On Twitter.
Operation Underground Railroad On YouTube.
Operation Underground On Instagram.
Operation Underground Railroad On LinkedIn.
Operation Underground Railroad On TikTok.
The SPEAR Fund – Official website. The SPEAR Fund collaborates with and funds anti-trafficking organizations to provide quick and effective action when it matters most.
Wikipedia – Official website. Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit in good faith. Its purpose is to benefit readers by containing information on all branches of knowledge. Hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation, it consists of freely editable content, whose articles also have numerous links to guide readers to more information.
