Fairfield arts center to show ‘Sound of Freedom’

FAIRFIELD — Residents will have two chances to see the newly released film “Sound of Freedom” this week at the Fairfield Arts & Convention Center.

The center will host showings of the film at 7 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, Aug. 1-2 in its Sondheim Center for the Performing Arts as part of its Cinema Fairfield series, using the venue’s theater to show first-run films. The film runs 2 hours and 15 minutes, and tickets are $7.

The film deals with human trafficking, and is based on a true story about a man, Tim Ballard (played by Jim Caviezel in the film), who devotes his life to combating human trafficking.

The FACC describes the movie as follows:

“After rescuing a boy from ruthless child traffickers, a federal agent learns the boy’s sister still is captive and decides to embark on a dangerous mission to save her. With time running out, he quits his job and journeys deep into the Colombian jungle, putting his life on the line to free her from a fate worse than death.”

Solomon Davis, assistant director of FACC who oversees Cinema Fairfield, said he’s doing something special after the two showings. Davis has invited a Fairfield police officer and a couple of therapists to meet with members of the audience in the lobby. The officer will be there to answer questions about human trafficking and how law enforcement officials combat it, as well as ways the community can help. The therapists will help members of the public process what they just witnessed.

Davis said he and FACC Executive Director Lindsay Bauer saw the film at a film conference in June before its theatrical release. He said they were both moved and disturbed by the film’s contents, and that is what motivated them to invite local professionals to speak to the public after the two showings at the Sondheim.

“When we saw the film, it did not have this [public service announcement] at the end about being a call to action, something for you to process,” Davis said. “Without it, Lindsay and I felt lost and upset. We didn’t know how to handle that.”

Davis said members of the community encouraged him to bring the film to Fairfield, and he learned there was enough interest that it would be worthy of a local showing.

Cinema Fairfield debuted last October, marking the first time for the arts center to host first-run films. The center has shown things other than films on its big screen, too, such as World Cup matches in November. In March, the center hosted a video game tournament featuring Super Smash Bros.

In these first 10 months of the program, Davis said it’s become clear that the majority of the center’s audience are residents in the “leisure age” of 60s and 70s. Davis said he’s trying to get young people more involved, too, and that’s what prompted the video game tournament in March. The center also hosted elementary and some middle school students for a field trip in May, and he plans to expand on those field trips in the coming school year.

“The kids got to see the movie ‘Mario,’ and they had a blast,” Davis said. “It was important to create something special for the kids to do in the Sondheim, so they can start seeing this wonderful place as theirs.”

The arts center’s attendance for its films is right around the national average of 20-30 people per showing, Davis said. He said movie theater attendance has still not recovered fully from the pandemic, which is at about 80 percent of its pre-pandemic average.

Certain films have been very well attended, such as “Asteroid City” garnering about 55 people per showing. The biggest draw during the past 10 months was “80 for Brady.”

“Our main demographic, the people who get our newsletter, are women in their 70s, and they all brought their husbands because it involved football,” Davis said.

In an effort to spread the word about Cinema Fairfield and its offerings, the arts center has put out new sidewalk signs indicating its lineup of films and when they’re running. Davis said he’s still working to change the perception among residents that they have to leave town to see a movie.

“People will Google a movie, and when Cinema Fairfield shows up, they won’t believe it’s real,” Davis said.

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Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com