Sound of Hope -The Story of Possom Trot

On hearing the title, I rightly assumed that the film was set in the Southern States of America, but it turned out that Possum Trot is not an individual, but a place in rural East Texas. The film tells the inspiring true story of how in the 1990s, 22 families from a small black Baptist church in this small town adopted 77 hard to place children.

Like Sound of Freedom, Angel's studio's film about child trafficking, this film also seeks to not only bring to light a problem but also to portray how some people have responded to make a difference. Unlike Sound of Freedom, however, which concentrated on the rescue of trafficked children, this film doesn't sugar coat the difficulties of trying to help children from broken homes and the price paid by the members of the church.

The films makes clear the traumatic backgrounds of some of these children and why it might be difficult for them to settle in a normal environment. These horrors are not overly dwelt on (the film comes with a PG13 rating) but enough is shown to get the idea of where the children have come from.

We are also given an insight into the church life of Bennett Chapel led by the charismatic Pastor WC Martin and his glamorous wife Donna. This is full of exuberant singing, clapping, stamping and interactive preaching. Donna is very much the First Lady of the little community, but she has her own problems, including a teenage son with severe special needs. Then Donna's beloved mother dies sending Donna into a deep depression. It is during this time that she senses the Lord speaking to her and telling her to open her heart and home to children in need. This leads her to decide to adopt. Her husband is initially not supportive - "can't you just get a puppy or do some extra gardening?" he suggests... But she feels that this is a call from God and this gives her the strength and grace to step out and pair adopt four children.

The film uses the arc of Donna's story to expose the plight of abandoned children in the care system. Once WC her husband realises the depth of this, he uses his position as pastor to encourage others in their congregation to think about adopting too. One of the most emotional scenes in the film is when the members of the church all stand up one by one agreeing to take on children in need. The film doesn't stop at this inspiring and emotional moment, however, but goes on to show the price these families pay for their generosity.. Some are brought to breaking point, but in the process the community is brought even closer together in they support each other enabling them to persevere. At the end of the film we see the real people concerned and how they have turned out.

The children, now grown up, today have a stability that would have been unthinkable without the support of their adoptive families. The film is clearly a passion project for director Joshua Weigel and his wife Rebekkah who co-wrote the script as they have adopted children themselves. They even moved to East Texas to be near Possom Trot in the development of the film. The performances of the main actors Demetriius Gross (Rev WC Martin) and Nika King ( his wife, Donna), as well English actress Diaana Babnicova who plays the traumatised teen Terri, all come across as unshowy and authentic. . Out 11th October for Black awareness month the film is well worth a watch!

LINKS

Watch the trailer: https://soundofhopemovie.co.uk/trailer

See Kristina Cooper's interviews:

Pastor Martin: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lIbBJk8ZPHLz0MDKefaa5owL2EgDiEB5/view

Director Joshua Weigel: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QySJGHI3sVT49rsaOK1TGYhn-rBHMt0J/view