The battle over counseling choice is escalating globally — and one film is sounding the alarm
NEWS PROVIDED BY
Fish Tales Productions
Oct. 6, 2026
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn., Oct. 6, 2026 /Standard Newswire/ — FREEDOM, a feature documentary from Fish Tales Production Company, has been named one of five finalists in the 54th Annual ICVM Crown Awards, category of Best Non-Theatrical Release. Bronze, Silver, and Gold will be announced at the NRB Convention in Washington, D.C., February 2027.
FREEDOM was filmed across five countries — Malta, Poland, Singapore, Ireland, and the United States. More than forty people were interviewed; from those, a carefully selected array of voices was chosen: activists, counselors, attorneys, pastors, and men and women who have lived the experience firsthand. Activists who oppose counseling choice are heard. Claims of abuse are examined directly. The film doesn’t silence opposing views — it lets the evidence speak.
FREEDOM includes footage from Malta documenting the case of Matthew Grech — the first person prosecuted under Malta’s conversion practices ban. Grech was acquitted in March 2026, but the Attorney General has appealed, with a hearing set for January 8, 2027. Throughout the proceedings, the International Federation for Therapeutic and Counselling Choice (IFTCC) has been cited by prosecutors as though it promotes a coercive program — it does not. The IFTCC supports voluntary counseling consistent with each client’s freely chosen goals and values. The outcome will set a precedent — and governments across the UK and Europe are already watching.
The film’s reach is already being felt. At the recent ICVM Storytellers Conference in Orlando, multiple distributors and production companies requested screeners — recognizing a story the mainstream media has largely ignored.
“Every person deserves the right to seek counsel that aligns with their own beliefs,” says Executive Producer Wayne Blakely, who spent forty years in the LGBTQ community before returning to his faith in 2009. “Governments are now criminalizing that choice. Those who value freedom cannot afford to stay silent.”
FREEDOM is directed by Scotty Mayer, with Associate Producers Keith Detweiler and Scotty Mayer, and Executive Producer Wayne Blakely.
Wayne Blakely is available for interviews and media inquiries. Screenings can be arranged upon request.
Screener available upon request.
Contact: knowgreaterlove@comcast.net | 360-936-8514 | freedomdocumentary.com
About FREEDOM:
FREEDOM is a feature documentary from Fish Tales Production Company examining the criminalization of counseling choice through the voices of activists, counselors, attorneys, pastors, and people who have lived the experience — three years in the making.
SOURCE Fish Tales Production Company