Last Day of Freedom
NEW DOCS
“When they started bringing the death penalty back, I embraced it,” Bill Babbitt tells us. “It was okay for someone else’s family members. Then one day it came knocking on my door.” Bill’s younger brother Manny, a decorated Vietnam veteran, suffers from PTSD. When Bill finds evidence that ties Manny to a murder, he agonizes over what to do. Thinking that it is not only the right thing to do, but that it might also be a way to get his brother help, Bill goes to the police. In the ensuing trial, Bill testifies for both the prosecution and the defense, haunted by his recollection of Manny’s last day of freedom. The filmmakers have beautifully animated Bill’s narrative in a variety of styles: simple line drawings for the primary interview, watercolors for flashbacks, and photos of newspaper articles. Sound effects and a spare musical score by Fred Frith lend emotional depth. AT
Directors
Dee Hibbert-Jones, Nomi Talisman
Producers
Dee Hibbert-Jones, Nomi Talisman
Editors
Dee Hibbert-Jones, Nomi Talisman, Robert Arnold, Elizabeth Finlayson
Cinematographer
Nomi Talisman
Release Year
2014
Festival Year
2015
Country
United States
Run Time
32 minutes
Premiere
World Premiere