Amplifying Unheard Voices: The Powerful Mission of the Film "City of Dreams"

0:00 Well, Sean Wolpington, thank you so much for taking some time out of your busy schedule today because today is the day that your film City of Dreams is launching nationwide. And we're praying that it goes even further because you deal with a topic that a lot of people are afraid to talk about or not necessarily afraid, but they're embarrassed to even talk about it. And you've been involved now. This is your second film dealing with this topic of human trafficking. So it's an honor to be able to talk to you for getting your voice out there and really speaking the truth about this. So thank you. Well, thank you. It's great to be on your show, John. I really appreciate everything that you guys do.

0:40 We're excited because City of Dreams opens today nationwide. And it's just a powerful and inspiring true story about a boy who had a big dream to be a soccer star that turned into a nightmare when he was sold into slavery to a sweatshop in downtown L.A., which is firing about the film is that he's one of the 12 million children who are victims of child slavery today. But he had the courage to fight back, to risk really everything, his life, to battle his captors, to liberate himself, but also these other kids, you know, who were held slavery right here in America.

1:25 And while Sound of Dreams, sorry, Sound of Freedom, I just urge to do, showing us how child trafficking is happening everywhere. You know, City of Dreams is showing how it's happening right here in the United States. And just yesterday I heard from someone who works for border control, they just arrested someone for trafficking yesterday in Atlanta two days ago. Three people were arrested for child trafficking. And unfortunately, it's one of the fastest growing criminal enterprises in the world. It's a $150 billion industry. So I hope that this movie will be a weapon of mass inspiration in the war against child trafficking and it's fired people to rise up and just like Jesus in the film, to fight back against, you know, this unthinkable threat to our children's innocence.

2:16 Yeah. I want to talk about this film because you just made mention of the fact that this is a true story. And tell me about how you got this story and were able to then turn this into a film because a lot of times people that are victims of human trafficking don't want to share all the details and don't want to share all that. But this is a pretty dramatic story. How did you find this and then turn it into a script and then a screenplay and then eventually the film? Well, by the way, it is true, especially with child trafficking, revealing identities and certain elements to the story or something that, you know, we don't often can't do, you know, but this the story of City of Dreams really starts with the writer and the director.

3:03 You know, it was his inspiration. His own father was a child slave at the age of seven in India. He came here to Los Angeles over 20 years ago with a mission to tell stories that could make a positive impact. And after his father passed away and his mother was on her deathbed, she advised him of her life insurance. And he had always wanted to tell the story, which is again, partly inspired by his father's own experience, but other two real events that occurred in Los Angeles, specific with kids being sold into a sweatshop and being held under armed guards. And you know, it took him about six years.

3:43 His mother told him, you know, to please use her life insurance to partly fund the Philca Studios that want to fund it, just like Center Freedom and distribute it. You know, so Mo Ramshan Dady, who's the writer, director, did a brilliant job with the movie, but he also did an incredible job with sticking with it. You know, for six years, never gave up, you know, just like the team with Center Freedom, eight years, you know, despite studios passing and distributors not wanting to fund a release. Fortunately, City of Dreams won the Mammoth Film Festival, got the attention of Roadside Attractions, secured distribution. It's earned a perfect 100% critic score right after winning Mammoth Film Festival.

4:27 And more importantly, has also attracted the support of world leaders and celebrities who are rallying behind the movie and its mission to raise awareness about this critical issue. And you made mention of Sound of Freedom, which was really an amazing film that caught everyone's attention last year. And you were involved with that too. So obviously you have a heart for this issue. Can we talk about that for a little bit? Yeah, I mean, like once you see and hear what's happening to children everywhere, including the United States, it's hard to turn a blind eye. You know, of those 12 million children that are victims of modern day slavery, right now there's thousands, you know, crawling up in a corner, calling out to God, begging him to please help them.

5:15 And it's our hope that this film will be a weapon of mass desperation in this war against child trafficking and that it will move people to join the fight for these kids freedom. And that's our hope. You know, and Sound of Freedom does it in a very unique way, you know, with more of a focus on child sexual exploitation. And Steve James does it, focus more on the stories in America and this particular one with child slave labor. That's why we're launching this weekend on Labor Day Weekend as a protest to child slave labor. So where can people see this film now? Is it in theaters and just select theaters or is it nationwide? I know there's always a censorship push on films like this and Sound of Freedom because the powers that be don't want people to know what's really going on.

6:05 Well, you know, the movie's everywhere nationwide and it's opening weekend is really important because when a film opens successfully, it stays in theaters and it can grow, which is what I want to do, Sound of Freedom. Week two is bigger than week one and week three was bigger than week one, which defies the gravity of the box office because typically it goes down quite a bit from 100 to 50 to 25 and then joined those away and Sound of Freedom was able to beat Mission Impossible and Indiana Jones, two 500 million dollar films and even cool classics like Godfather and Pulp Fiction, which I'm grateful for, not because of the box office, but because of the impact. We know of tens of thousands of children that were liberated because individuals saw the movie and were moved to act and because of their actions, kids were saved.

6:56 We know of 20 laws that were created in different countries around the world because people saw the movie and they acted. And so it's our hope that as many people see this movie as possible so that they can act, join our army of love and fight for the freedom of these innocent kids. Yeah, so this film follows the boy, Jesus, who is 12 to 15 years old and he has dreams to be a soccer star and was sold the lie that he's going to a soccer camp in Los Angeles because he's really good. But it's just an excuse to get him to be trafficked and then work in this slave labor shop.

7:36 Six, thirty, seven, twelve, thirty, eleven and boom, lights out at midnight. You crush it. Why does this happen? I mean, it's really kind of hard to grasp our minds around this is why did it seems like it would be an easy thing to kind of pick out and like, oh, this doesn't make sense. This doesn't add up. Why would his dad be OK with him going? Can we just talk a little bit about like how this starts and how people get tricked into this? Well, you know, these these trafficking cartels are master manipulators. They leverage the dreams of children. Evidence that they're harboring illegal.

8:16 In Center for Freedom, it was the dreams of the little girl to be a model. And in City Dreams, it's the dream of the little boy to be a soccer star. And by dangling, you know, these shiny objects in front of them, some of these kids and parents fall for it. And unfortunately, in this case, the soccer recruiter was in fact a child trafficker. And that was what they were using for boys. But girls, they were using, you know, a modeling rose. And so it's just a critically important to be more diligent than ever. The other sad reality is there are some parents in some regions of the country and in the world where poverty and drug addiction have led them to the point where they sell their own kids, even knowing that those kids may end up getting into harms where you're just being unconscious.

9:06 Oftentimes, the parents are sold a bill of goods. Hey, if you give me the kid to me, we'll make sure that they get a better education, a lot of a better future, whether it be soccer or modeling. But in some situations where people are addicted to drugs and and have lost their sense of reality, they're selling their kids just to get high. And so, you know, we could all play our part if you go to city of dreams movie dot com. We partner with a 21. They've got a lot of resources and tips and best practices to protect your own children, but also other people's children. And also, if you want to join the fight to promote our movies mission to raise awareness and combat trafficking, there's also a battle plan on the website of things you can do to help promote the movie and its mission.

9:53 The thing that was really interesting with this was that it's primarily taking place within the United States in in Los Angeles. Yes, you see the flashbacks and the things about his life in in Mexico and is losing his mother. But there's this takes place under under the watchful eye of the or the neglectful eye of the American population where these things are happening under our own noses. And it was in it. They used an abandoned house or a rundown facility, but it's just kind of overlooked. Now I know you just made reference to the city of dreams movie dot com.

10:36 So people can go to that to get resources and everything. But what are some things that we can do to be more aware of these things happening in our own country? Are there some signs that by watching the movie, people are going to start to see and they can be aware of this? And what do we do about it? You know, there's a lot. So it's hard to cover it all here. That's why if you go to see a dreams movie dot com, eight twenty ones put together a great action plan for things you can do to pay attention. One of them is there is a hotline, you know, so that if you see suspicious behavior, you can call that hotline and report it. I had a personal experience where I was in Detroit 20 some odd years ago after a long day of work.

11:19 I'm in the jacuzzi in this indoor pool and I just get a gut feeling. I saw this older 45 year old white male with like an eight year old black child. They were swimming and they go in the bathroom. I just had a weird gut and I was sitting quiet meditating and praying in the jacuzzi and I remember having this thought like, oh, that's just a distraction. It's fine. Let me stick with my meditation. And then I realized, wait a minute, what if this gut is real? The stakes are too high. So I got out of the jacuzzi, I walked across the room, went to the bathroom and I discovered this man was molesting this little boy and I was able to call the police. We were able to arrest them. That guy's in jail today because of that.

12:02 So I think number one, follow your gut. Listen to your gut. Number two, just be aware. And it's amazing people just open up their eyes, they see behavior and if you know, if you see or sense something's off, speak up. Because it doesn't hurt to walk across the road. Take some action because it could end up saving a kid's life. Absolutely. Take some action because it could save a kid's life. That's really important. We can't just stand back and be bystanders anymore. Especially whenever we know that these things are happening in our world today. I got to say that the cinematography in this film is pretty incredible. The steady cam shots, the one shot that you have where you're literally following around.

12:44 It was a long shot. It was very well produced and choreographed with everything like that. It really built anticipation and just the... My heart was in my throat with a lot of these scenes and the way that it was shot, it's really enjoyable and really it feels like an action film. The chase scenes, oh my goodness. I was curling up in my chair. It's intense. I watched it with Tony Robinson, his home theater and watching Tony watch it was more fun than watching the movie itself after having seen it maybe a hundred times. But it really does redefine Edge of Your Seat. Mo did an incredible job with cinematography for sure.

13:26 That was actually contributed by one of the leaders for Roma who led the cinematography for Roma. The score was masterful by Lisa George. She did the score for or helped at the score for Gladiator. The talent that came together for this was unbelievable. Each of the performances were out of this world and really Mo did a great job keeping everybody together. As a result, a lot of iconic filmmakers have joined the fight with us. Michael Phillips, he's an Oscar winning producer, taxi driver, counters the third kind. When he saw the movie, he decided to get behind it and become an executive support producer to support it because of the masterful filmmaking but also the mission as did Luis Mandoki who's an award winning Mexican director.

14:16 When a man loves a woman and message in a bottle and a number of other iconic films, this is a film that filmmakers love but also audiences love because it's so intense, it's so powerful and it's inspiring. To see this kid risk it all to save himself and others from the brutal grasp of slavery. It's hard though that when people leave the theater, they've got a candle lit in their heart and they're inspired by his courage so that they can imitate that and do whatever they can to help protect and save these innocent kids from the unthinkable. That's awesome. Sean, I just want to encourage everybody to go to see the film in theaters, especially this opening weekend.

15:00 It is really important to get that out there and go to cityofdreamsmovie.com for more information. Make sure you tell family and friends all about this film. Sean, any closing thoughts? Please join the fight. Help us raise awareness about this threat to our children's innocence. It's my hope that each of us in some way will answer these children's prayers, that someone will help them, someone will come to the rescue and each of us can do our own part. And thank you, John, for doing yours by promoting the movie and its mission. Really appreciate you having us today. Yom melody of слыш after behind thevey p gap Do you think you're going to play on the field tomorrow?

16:06 No, no, no, no. Any reason you rolled through that stop? I'm sorry. That your son? Yes. Any ID for the boy? Yeah. Watch the stops. To a 2018 red Mustang belonging to a Rodrigo Ramirez. Rise and shine, homie! Rise and shine! First shift 630. Second shift, 1230. Last shift, 211 and boom! Lights out at midnight. You'll crush it. I know there's more of them in there. Well, fake passport isn't going to cut it. Yes, sir. These people have no criminal history whatsoever.

16:46 Kind of busy shing. The busy kind. We've got evidence that they're harboring illegals. Plus, more warrants denied. Copy that. I'd quit poking around. Catch my drift? It's the truth. The truth is that as much as we want to be free...

17:30 Get out of the ground now! We live and we die together. This is America.