Sound of Hope – The Story of Possum Trot: On the red carpet with Joshua Weigel, Letitia Wright, Reverend Martin and First Lady Donna Martin at the London premiere

Nestled in a pocket of Eastern Texas is the small rural community of Possum Trot where Reverend Martin and his wife Donna, leaders of the  Bennet Chapel Missionary Baptist Church, encouraged a community to step forward to foster and bring over 70 hard-to-place children into their families.

Their story of a collective community and their difficult journey is reflected in this film Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot. Brought to screen by wife and husband filmmakers, Joshua and Rebecca Weigel, alongside Letitia Wright in the driving seat as executive producer, this emotive production is an authentic portrayal that reveals the huge impact this mission had igniting a national movement for protecting vulnerable children and raising public awareness.

The Upcoming had the pleasure of attending the London Premiere where we spoke to Weigel about his reasons for choosing to tell this story, the casting process for the feature and what it was like immersing himself in their community to ensure the authenticity of the project.

Wright spoke about her collaborative journey on making this film and the way it touched upon her own personal memories, as well as her hope that the important issues reach audiences when they watch it.

We chatted to Nika King about taking on the role as First Lady Donna Martin and what it was like to meet her, emulate her aura in the role and how it also touched upon her own upbringing too.

Also in attendance were Reverend Martin and First Lady Donna Martin who spoke about how they met, what inspired them to go on this foster journey and how they feel this film speaks to audiences about their mission.

Ezelle Alblas

Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot is released nationwide on 11^th October 2024.

Watch the trailer for Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot here: