New film ‘City of Dreams’ explores reality of child trafficking in America

A new film from Roadside Attractions aims to bring attention to the dark reality of child trafficking within the United States, telling the story of a young boy who fights to escape slavery.

City of Dreams , a film that was released Friday and is inspired by true events, focuses on Jesus, a young Mexican boy who is trafficked into Los Angeles to work in a sweatshop. In his new environment, he meets a girl, Elena, who was also sold into slavery but goes missing, making him realize he needs to fight back to save himself and others.

The film, marking the directorial debut of Mohit Ramchandani, features a song written by musician Linda Perry. The song is performed by “Despacito” musician artist Luis Fonsi, who also serves as one of the film’s executive producers.

Former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy also served as executive producer of the movie and has promoted it on social media, calling it “the most important movie of the year, hands-down.”

Rocky and Rambo actor Sylvester Stallone has similarly praised the film, calling it “truly important.”

"I've been making films for a long time, and every now and then, you come across a film that is actually truly important — not just entertaining, but one that can change your entire outlook on life,” Stallone said. “This is one of them.”

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City of Dreams’s release comes a little more than a year after Sound of Freedom was released in 2023, becoming the biggest box office surprise of the year. Sound of Freedom details the true story of former Homeland Security agent Tim Ballard quitting his job to rescue children from sex slavery, with Ballard portrayed by The Passion of the Christ’s Jim Caviezel.

Sound of Freedom ended its box office run with over $250 million , with over $184 million made in North America.