Donald Trump plans to host a screening of Sound of Freedom at his Bedminster golf club next week, seizing on the unexpected box office performance of the movie.
Star Jim Caviezel and producer Eduardo Verástegui will attend, while Tim Ballard, the former government agent upon which the story is based, also will be there. The film is based on Ballard’s efforts to save children from sex traffickers in Colombia.
The screening will be open to club members and supporters, according to the Trump campaign.
The Angel Studios movie has so far generated almost $50 million at the box office. Although it is non-partisan, the film has generated considerable interest on the right, as a kind of outcast project that defied the major studios. It’s been promoted on Steve Bannon’s podcast, including by Caviezel and by one of Trump’s advisers, Jason Miller. In announcing the screening, the Trump campaign singled out some of the criticism from outlets like Rolling Stone, The Guardian, CNN and The Washington Post. The Guardian labeled the movie a “QAnon adjacent thriller.”
In announcing the screening, the Trump campaign noted the former president’s steps to end human trafficking and Ballard’s support of a border wall. Verástegui was a member of Trump’s Advisory Commission on Hispanic Prosperity, and Ballard was part of an advisory panel on human trafficking.
The screening’s linkage of movie to political record is hardly novel, as members of Congress routinely host screenings on Capitol Hill to mobilize attention around issues. The White House recently hosted Eva Longoria and cast members from Flamin’ Hot for an outdoor screening, where President Joe Biden emphasized his record on DACA and pressed Congress to pass immigration reform.