“Sound of Hope: The Story Of Possum Trot”

Rating: 8/10

Director: Joshua Weigel

Writers: Joshua and Rebekah Weigel

Style: Biopic/ Drama

Trailer: youtube.com/watch?v=-nyh9tcGFcI

Time: 2 hour, 18 minutes

Review by Mike Szymanski

Inspired by true events, this is one those stories that sneaks up on you and you wonder, “Why didn’t know I know that happened?”

“Sound of Hope: The Story Of Possum Trot” is a tribute to the foster care system and a brave pastor and his wife, the Reverend Martin and his wife Donna, and the people around them who helped create a better system for getting kids into good homes.

What a striking story that happened in East Texas, where the whole community came together to help.

Rev. Martin is played by Demetrious Grosse and his wife Donna is portrayed by Nina King. But the weight of the emotional drama that erupts while finding a home for these lost children comes from the character of the social worker Susan Ramsey (played by an exceptional actress Elizabeth Mitchell who knows how to repress her emotions, yet is very powerful.)

Although it may appear too preachy for some at first, there’s a need for a whole lot of praying going on in this small community of Possum Trot. When Donna believes that it’s a sign of God to adopt children who are in dire need, they bring in a dedicated social worker who teaches the whole town the adoption process and tries to place children in safe spaces.

It’s not always easy. Of the 22 families in Possum Trot, they are adopting 77 of the most difficult children. The portrayals by the many children in the film are a bit uneven, but the story seems to center more on one child Terri (played with strong emotion and range by Diaana Babnicova) and her resistance to being adopted.

So many children need good homes, and many children don’t get the care or support they need. Some of the stories are heartbreaking: in one case 18 children are found in a broken-down shack in the woods and the mother left without warning.

From 1998 through 2000 these children were adopted by families and became an inspiration for families to do the impossible and help the country’s most vulnerable.

Writer and director Joshua Weigel seeks out stories that transform and inspire, and started filmmaking at a young age. He collaborated on the screenplay with his wife Rebekah on this true story.

The two of them are known for an astounding short film that has gone viral called “The Butterfly Circus” which follows an armless and leg-less man who is taken in by an inspiring showman from an exploitive freak show. The showman ends up inspiring the guy to get up and do things on his own. The short film won more than 35 film festival awards and has more than 100 million views.

The couple worked on a script about Possum Trot for eight years. They discovered shocking statistics that of the 100,000 children needing adoption, more than 70 percent suffer from neglect and 30 percent are simply put through hell.

A word of caution, it’s tough to make it through this movie without wanting to adopt a child yourself. Or at least, help out.

The movie opens July 4, 2024.

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