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Free Leonard Peltier

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In the early 1970s, the United States was roiled by protest: Vietnam, women's rights, gay rights, black power and, rising up at the forefront, the American Indian Movement, AIM. Leonard Peltier was a young mechanic when he joined AIM to advocate for his people and quickly found himself swept up in a war between activists and the US government. FREE LEONARD PELTIER, the new documentary from acclaimed directors Jesse Short Bull and David France, revisits the turbulent era of AIM, bringing alive the occupations, arrests, demands, and assassinations and culminating in the FBI's descent onto the compound on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation where Peltier was staying. After two FBI agents are killed in the ensuing shootout, Peltier is arrested, tried, convicted of their murder and sentenced to two life terms in prison in one of the most notorious and discredited legal judgments in modern America. Now, fifty years later, with Peltier still in jail, FREE LEONARD PELTIER arrives to revisit his case in a new era and to advocate for just what its title suggests.

Critics Reviews

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Ty Burr Ty Burr's Watch List (Substack) A solid, stirring account of the fight to release Peltier, in his 80s and ailing, after five decades in prison for a crime everyone but the FBI believes he didn’t commit. Rated: 3/4 Jan 31, 2025 Full Review Robert Daniels RogerEbert.com “Free Leonard Peltier” is as defiant as its subject. Jan 29, 2025 Full Review Daniel Fienberg The Hollywood Reporter The documentary has its finger on a pulse, but it isn’t prepared to say what the newly measured heart rate means. Jan 28, 2025 Full Review Alan French Sunshine State Cineplex Deploying the high-energy approach Short Bull used on Lakota Nation vs. United States, Free Leonard Peltier recreates the momentum of its movement. The diversity of voices and frustrations fighting for Indigenous rights feels incredibly relevant. Rated: 7/10 Jan 28, 2025 Full Review Read all reviews

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Movie Info

Synopsis In the early 1970s, the United States was roiled by protest: Vietnam, women's rights, gay rights, black power and, rising up at the forefront, the American Indian Movement, AIM. Leonard Peltier was a young mechanic when he joined AIM to advocate for his people and quickly found himself swept up in a war between activists and the US government. FREE LEONARD PELTIER, the new documentary from acclaimed directors Jesse Short Bull and David France, revisits the turbulent era of AIM, bringing alive the occupations, arrests, demands, and assassinations and culminating in the FBI's descent onto the compound on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation where Peltier was staying. After two FBI agents are killed in the ensuing shootout, Peltier is arrested, tried, convicted of their murder and sentenced to two life terms in prison in one of the most notorious and discredited legal judgments in modern America. Now, fifty years later, with Peltier still in jail, FREE LEONARD PELTIER arrives to revisit his case in a new era and to advocate for just what its title suggests.
Director
Jesse Short Bull, David France
Producer
David France, Jhane Myers, Paul McGuire, N. Bird Runningwater
Production Co
Public Square Films
Genre
Crime, Documentary, History
Original Language
English
Runtime
1h 50m