Angel Studios is the independent film studio behind Sound of Freedom, which told the tale of Tim Ballard’s attempts to rescue children being trafficked. It’s also now the studio behind an upcoming film called “Possum Trot,” which is about the work a small church in East Texas did to adopt difficult to place children in the foster system.
As Sound of Freedom raised awareness of the massive human trafficking issue, Possum Trot will hopefully raise awareness of the limitations of the foster care system and how it takes herculean efforts of committed individuals, such as the church in the movie, to help place children with responsible families.
Angel Studios announced its involvement with Possum Trot in a press statement released on February 7, 2024, saying, “Angel Studios, the studio behind the global blockbuster SOUND OF FREEDOM, has acquired worldwide rights to the feature film POSSUM TROT.”
Continuing, it noted that the movie is based on a true story and highlighted the individuals involved, saying, “Based on the true story of a small church in East Texas, POSSUM TROT is executive produced by Letitia Wright (BLACK PANTHER, Founder of 3.16 Productions), Nika King and Joe Knittig, directed by Joshua Weigel (THE BUTTERFLY CIRCUS), written by Joshua and Rebekah Weigel (THE BUTTERFLY CIRCUS), and produced by Joshua and Rebekah Weigel (Peacetree Productions).“
Then it quotes the movie’s director, Joshua Weigel, as saying, “The Martin family and this community have shown us a solution to the foster crisis. They’re fighters and we believe this film will catalyze others to courageously follow their lead. I’m honored they asked us to tell their story, and that Angel Studios is bringing POSSUM TROT to the world.”
Next, after introducing the movie and those involved in making it, Angel Studios explained the powerful story at the heart of the movie: the monumental effort the parishioners of a small, East Texas church to help place vulnerable children with loving foster families. That effort apparently helped awaken Americans to the problems with the foster system, an awakening that this movie will hopefully further.
In any case, the statement explained the story by saying, “POSSUM TROT shares the true story of Bishop and First Lady Donna Martin, and their tiny Bennett Chapel church, in the town of Possum Trot in the woods of East Texas. Twenty two families linked arms and courageously adopted seventy seven of the most difficult-to-place children in the local foster care system, igniting a national movement for vulnerable children that continues today.“
Concluding, the statement quoted the Chief Distribution Officer of Angel Studios, Jared Geesey, as saying, “POSSUM TROT is a rare film that merges an incredible true story with the power to transform a critical issue facing our communities. Our Angel Guild was deeply moved by the story. Last July 4, SOUND OF FREEDOM brought issues of trafficking to the attention of millions, and we know that a staggering percentage of children from foster care become targets for trafficking. We hope to continue to build on that awareness and shine light on the next step this Independence Day.”
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Watch the first look trailer here:
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video