“Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot” endeavors to both educate and inspire audiences about foster care and adoption, and the role they can play in addressing the issue. In that goal, the filmmakers are successful.
The film tells the true story of a small, rural community in East Texas where members of the town’s church joined forces to adopt all of the children in their county’s foster care system — 77 in all — in the late 90s and early 2000s. It focuses on the pastor of Bennett Chapel, W.C. Martin, and his wife Donna. Reeling from the sudden death of her mother, Donna feels a religious call to channel her pain into love by adopting children in need. Along with her husband and sister, they inspire the congregation to heed the call as well. “We can’t look away,” they tell their community, and ask social workers to give them the children no one else will take.
Several realities are laid bare in “Sound of Hope,” at times in deeply emotional, tear-jerking scenes. Images of abused children are shown, along with a scene of a 6-year-old and their toddler sibling calling for help as their mother is murdered in front of them. It also shows — to some degree — the echoes of trauma many youth in foster care exhibit, and the challenge this poses to foster and adoptive parents. Some attention is also paid to the stress, and sometimes abandonment, biological children feel when their parents’ attention is diverted to foster or adoptive siblings. In one case, a failed adoption is briefly shown, though the boy joins the Martin family rather than returning to foster care.
The filmmakers also made a point to educate audiences about some of the chronic challenges of the foster care system: That most families who become involved in the system are there as a result of poverty-based neglect, not abuse; that children sometimes face more abuse in foster homes; and the ever present stress of a shortage of foster homes, particularly those equipped to take in siblings or children with behavioral challenges.
The financial struggles of the adoptive families is a key theme of the film, with the suggestion that even without material resources, anyone can help a child. Something the film glosses over is the challenge of getting kids with trauma histories the services they need, especially in an impoverished and rural area.
The social worker featured in “Sound of Hope” is a crusading, empathetic figure always on her game — a depiction that may not ring true to many who have struggled with less-than-responsive, overworked caseworkers. In real life, the worker, Susan Ramsey, earned Child Welfare League of America’s Outstanding Service Award in 2000 and was lauded by the Possum Trot community as an “angel.” The real life W.C. and Donna Martin have been keen to publicize their church’s story, and advocate nationally for other church communities to follow their example.
The film ends showing a reunion of some of the real church families in 2024, sharing updates on a handful of the children — now adults — who were adopted by Bennett Chapel families. Only success stories were highlighted. If there are children or families who had greater struggles post-adoption, their stories were not shared.
The film is beautifully acted and shot. It has received rave reviews from critics and audiences alike. While the religious undertones are central, anyone, regardless of their faith, will find it moving. •
“Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot”
An Angel Studios production. 2 hours 9 minutes
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— Reviewed by Sara Tiano
