''Freetown'' is a 2015

biopic A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of a non-fictional or historically-based person or people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudra ...

film based on a true story about missionaries of

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

seeking to escape the 1990 Liberian Civil War to safety in bordering

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

Plot

Philip Abubakar, a local branch leader for the LDS church, and six African missionaries for the faith (Elders Menti, Meyers, Gaye, Nyanforth, Selli and Forkpah) are stuck in Monrovia during the

First Liberian Civil War The First Liberian Civil War lasted from 1989 to 1997. President Samuel Doe had established a regime in 1980 but totalitarianism and corruption led to unpopularity and the withdrawal of support from the United States by the late 1980s. The Nat ...

. Prevented from conducting missionary work due to the war, they create a plan to escape to the northern border with

, so they can continue preaching without the fear of being killed. Elder Gaye is a member of the

Krahn The Krahn are an ethnic group of Liberia and Ivory Coast. This group belongs to the Kru language family and its people are sometimes referred to as the Wee, Guéré, Sapo, or Wobe. It is likely that Western contact with the Kru language is the p ...

tribe, which is being targeted for execution by rebels from the International Patriotic Front of Liberia (INPFL). The local rebellion leader, Ansa, kills both male and female Krahn tribe members on sight, blaming them for the war started by President

Samuel Doe Samuel Kanyon Doe (6 May 1951 – 9 September 1990) was a Liberian politician who served as the 21st president of Liberia from 1980 to 1990. Doe ruled Liberia as Chairman of the People's Redemption Council (PRC) from 1980 to 1984 and then a ...

, a Krahn, as well as for the killing of his father, mother, and two younger brothers. Luckily for the missionaries, one of the other rebels, Momulu, a member of the local LDS branch, is able to convince Ansa to spare Elder Gaye's life. The missionaries are taken away, then released to join Abubakar and the four other missionaries on a trip to the border. The seven escapees crowd into an old, red five-seat sedan driven by Abubakar, with the Biblical passage "Mark 9:24" written on the back ("And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief"). Ansa, furious over the missing missionaries, tracks them to the border to ensure Elder Gaye does not leave the country to

Freetown Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and p ...

, Sierra Leone. At each checkpoint, they gradually trade their belongings to pass through. Their car runs out of gas, just as they make it to a small town with a petrol pump, but they have no money left. They trade their remaining possessions for liters of petrol to help them reach the border. Once they reach the border, they find out the bridge is closed. Abubakar is also disappointed when he finds that the missionaries have no ID papers or passports, since none of them has ever left the country. The escapees seem to have no hope to cross into Sierra Leone. After praying, Abubakar hears the sound of a

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...

carrier. Just as they are about to board to go to Sierra Leone, they are caught by Ansa and Momulu. Momulu tells them to do whatever Ansa asks, then leaves. Just as Ansa is about to execute Elder Gaye for being a Krahn, Momulu returns with armed soldiers, who demand that Ansa release the missionaries. The leader of the soldiers declares that he himself is a Krahn, and when asked whose side he is on, Momulu abandons Ansa and sides with the missionaries. Abubakar and the missionaries then safely cross the border and are reunited in Freetown with President Cunningham, the LDS mission president who is their supervisor for religious duties. An title card reveals the missionaries continued living in Sierra Leone for the next seven years, until the civil war ended.

Principal Photography

The filming was done entirely in West Africa.

Reception

Critical response

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, the film holds an approval rating of 50% based on 12 reviews, with an average rating of 6.14/10.

Nomination

The film was nominated for several Ghana Movie Awards: Actor in a Leading Role (Henry Adofo), Screenplay (

Melissa Leilani Larson Melissa Leilani Larson is an American writer and playwright based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Mormon literature critic Michael Austin described her as "one of the true rising stars of Mormon literature." Producer Jeremy Long described her as the "b ...

and

Garrett Batty Garrett Batty is an American film director, writer, and producer known for his film ''The Saratov Approach''. He is a graduate of Brigham Young University and a native of Park City, Utah. He is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-da ...

), Original Score (Kirk Sharpe), Visual Effects (Davin Bekins), Production Design (Albert Aidoo and Courage Wormenor), Cinematography (Jeremy Prusso), Sound Editing and Mixing (George Dankwa), Directing (Garrett Batty), and Best Picture. It won the screenplay award over the also-nominated films ''If Tomorrow Never Comes'', ''

Beasts of No Nation ''Beasts of No Nation'' is a 2005 novel by the Nigerian-American author Uzodinma Iweala, that takes its title from Fela Kuti's 1989 album of the same name. The book won the 2005 Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction and was adapted as a m ...

'', ''

The Cursed Ones ''The Cursed Ones'' is a 2015 British film that was directed by Nana Obiri Yeboah and produced by Nicholas K. Lory. The original screenplay was written by Maximilian Claussen. The film tells the story of a disillusioned reporter and an ideali ...

'', and ''Silver Rain''. The film is shortlisted for an

AML Award The AML Awards are given annually by the Association for Mormon Letters (AML) to the best work "by, for, and about Mormons." They are juried awards, chosen by a panel of judges. Citations for many of the awards can be found on the AML website. T ...

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 3735554, Freetown 2015 action thriller films 2015 thriller drama films Action films based on actual events American action thriller films Films shot in Ghana Thriller films based on actual events Films set in Liberia 2015 drama films 2015 films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films Mormon cinema