Sound Of Freedom Funder Charged With Kidnapping Child
Sound of Freedom has been haunted by the echoes of controversy. As reported by Dexerto, one of the backers behind the crowd-funded inspirational thriller has been arrested. Fabian Marta, who reportedly invested $5 million in the Angel Studios film, was taken into custody by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department on July 21 on the grounds of kidnapping in the first degree.
Fabian Marta, one of Sound of Freedom‘s investors, has been charged with child kidnapping.
The details of the accusation have not yet been fully clarified, but the charge in Missouri indicates that Marta removed a non-family member below the age of 14 without parental consent. The accusation is a bad look for Sound of Freedom, which tells the true story of Tim Ballard, a man who rescues children from sex trafficking via his organization Operation Underground Railroad (OUR).
Many online have been quick to point out the arrest and the air of hypocrisy surrounding it. The discussion has brought to light Fabian Marta’s “Sugar Baby / Sugar Daddy” parties, which he allegedly hosts as a means of grooming young women.
The arrest is only the latest controversy for Sound of Freedom. The film has been criticized on a number of points; first, OUR has been accused of misrepresenting its achievements and partnerships on a number of occasions, allegedly twisting the narrative around the work it does.
Second, some claim the film caters to QAnon conspiracy theorists. The argument is that those versed in the theory of the cannibalistic, child-sacrificing elite can easily read between the lines to see the point Sound of Freedom is really trying to make. Comments from the film’s lead actor, The Passion of the Christ’s Jim Caviezel, have also spurred suspicion about the QAnon subtext.
Angel Studios, the production company behind Sound of Freedom, has denied such claims. The studio produces inspirational and faith-based films and shows through a micro-investment strategy similar to Kickstarter and Indiegogo. They offer alternatives to Hollywood films, and projects like The Chosen and Sound of Freedom have proven the strategy’s success.
The discussion has brought to light Fabian Marta’s “Sugar Baby / Sugar Daddy” parties, which he allegedly hosts as a means of grooming young women.
Sound of Freedom went toe to toe with much bigger studio fare at this summer’s box office, out-earning blockbusters like Fast X, The Flash, Elemental, and Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One. The film has amassed more than $155 million in the United States alone against its roughly $14.5 million production budget.
Audiences have responded strongly to the film, which shines a light on the dark world of sex trafficking. Despite a middling 68 percent from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 99 percent Audience Score, even after a full month in wide release.
Sound of Freedom was produced all the way back in 2018, and was set to be distributed by Fox. When Disney acquired Fox, the project was shelved. The rights to film were eventually reclaimed by the filmmakers, but accusations that Disney tried to bury the project because of its own connections to sex trafficking flared up in the wake.
The accusation is a bad look for Sound of Freedom, which tells the true story of Tim Ballard, a man who rescues children from sex trafficking via his organization Operation Underground Railroad (OUR).
Fabian Marta claimed that his investment and involvement was the key to saving Sound of Freedom from Disney. His statements are now shaded more dubiously than ever.
The controversy around Sound of Freedom has not slowed its performance, and the arrest of Fabian Marta comes on the tail end of the film’s theatrical run. Time will tell how the scandal impacts the film’s long-term legacy. For now, it seems the world has not yet heard the last of Sound of Freedom.
