Last Day of Freedom A Man Reflects on His Brother's Crime and Imprisonment
Created from over 32,000 hand-drawn images, this Oscar-nominated animated documentary follows Bill as he struggles with a decision to stand by his brother, a Veteran returning from war who faces racism, criminal charges, and ultimately the death penalty.
The film is a portrait of a man at the nexus of the most pressing social issues of our day: racial bias, veteran's rights, mental health care and criminal justice.
Nominated for Best Documentary, Short Subject at the Academy Awards. Winner of Best Short from the International Documentary Association.
"A searing study of our most pressing social issues." - Indiewire
"A compelling story, and an intensely intimate one." - Jennie Kermode, Eye for Film
Running Time
31 mins
Year
2015
Kanopy ID
2195197
Filmmakers
Languages
Subjects
Show More
Related videos
Milwaukee 53206 - America's Mass Incarceration Crisis
The United States has the most prisoners of any nation in the world both in raw numbers and by percentage of the population. These numbers are further compounded within Milwaukee's mostly African-American 53206 zip code, where 62% of adult men have spent time in prison, making this America's most incarcerated…
The Wildest Show in the South - The Angola Prison Rodeo
This follow-up to the 1998 Oscar nominated doc "The Farm: Angola USA" tells the only story that couldn't be included in the original Angola documentary. Every Sunday in October, the Louisiana State Penitentiary hosts one of America's most unusual events. Amateur inmate cowboys risk their lives to participate in this…
The Prison in Twelve Landscapes - An Examination of the American Prison System
An essential documentary, Brett Story's incisive, investigative and wide-ranging THE PRISON IN TWELVE LANDSCAPES is an examination of the prison and its place - social, economic and psychological - in American society.
Filmmaker Brett Story excavates the often-unseen links and connections that prisons - and our system of mass incarceration…
Breathin': The Eddy Zheng Story - The Youngest San Quentin State Prisoner On His Road to Freedom
Arrested at 16 and tried as an adult for kidnapping and robbery, Eddy Zheng served over 20 years in California prisons and jails. Ben Wang's BREATHIN': THE EDDY ZHENG STORY paints an intimate portrait of Eddy -- the prisoner, the immigrant, the son, the activist -- on his journey to…
Cradle
After losing both arms overseas, a young veteran faces a new set of battles upon returning to the USA. He not only has to learn to live with prosthetics, but must also adjust to excruciating phantom limb pain, vivid memories of his pre war life, a post 9/11 world that…
Lock Up - The Prisoners of Rikers Island
If you are arrested in New York City and can't make bail, Rikers Island will be your new home. Most young men in New York City have a better chance of going to Rikers Island than they do of going to college.
Lock-Up: The Prisoners of Rikers Island profiles the…
The Kill Team - Examining the Moral Dilemmas Faced by Soldiers
Equal parts infuriating and illuminating, THE KILL TEAM looks at the devastating moral tensions that tear at soldiers' psyches through the lens of one highly personal and emotional story.
Private Adam Winfield was a 21-year-old soldier in Afghanistan when he attempted, with the help of his father, to alert the…
They Call Us Monsters - A Sensitive Look at Teenage Offenders
Juan, Jarad and Antonio, all young teens, face decades in prison. While the gravity of their crimes is great, these young men are still simply teenagers. Do they deserve a second chance? To some, they're kids. To others, they're monsters. THEY CALL US MONSTERS explores the complicated experience of juvenile…
The Farm, Angola Prison USA - Inside One of America's Most Famous Prisons
There are three things Angola will do to a man. Number one: it will bring you to the crossroads of a turning point. Number two: it will harden you. Number three: it will kill you. So tells Eugene Tannehill, inmate of the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, the largest maximum…
The Seventh Fire - A Native American Gang Leader Confronts His Violent Past
Executive produced by Terrence Malick, Natalie Portman, and Chris Eyre, THE SEVENTH FIRE is a fascinating new documentary about the Native American gang crisis.
When Rob Brown, a Native American gang leader on a remote Minnesota reservation, is sentenced to prison for a fifth time, he must confront his role…
The Trenches
A young man is getting ready to fight at the front. On the battlefield and in the depths of the ditches, the recruits are dreading the order to attack. It's war. The roar of explosions moving ever closer forebodes a spectacle of horror. Anxiety tightens its grip. The signal is…
The Survivor's Guide to Prison - Exploring the Current State of the US Prison System
You're more likely to go to prison in the USA than any other country in the world. THE SURVIVORS GUIDE TO PRISON explores the current state of the US prison system, focusing on the experiences of two wrongly convicted men, Reggie Cole and Bruce Lisker.
Featuring gripping commentary from former…
Comments (2)
The use of animation in documentary films is a fascinating topic. The renderings here, tho beautiful, are far from representationally perfect, as if to admit that some realities are just too complex, too difficult to even attempt to reproduce "realistically." The traumas presented in LAST DAY ...Read more
The use of animation in documentary films is a fascinating topic. The renderings here, tho beautiful, are far from representationally perfect, as if to admit that some realities are just too complex, too difficult to even attempt to reproduce "realistically." The traumas presented in LAST DAY OF FREEDOM are indeed the result of a failure, perhaps in fate, certainly in the political/social system to do this man justice. The animation here reproduces this failure in a way that is haunting, beautiful, and oh so significant. An important documentary that explores the intersections of racism and mental illness and how they affect criminal justice, this astounding short is not one you'll soon forget.
Read lessThis is a beautifully rendered and incredibly moving film. I went in thinking that I knew where it was going and what it was going to be, but it challenged and moved me in ways I couldn't have anticipated.