Free Speech Fear Free
★ 6.2 · 2017 · 79m · Documentary
Can we really be fully human without Free Speech? Is free speech the oxygen of our society? Without it we crumble. Free Speech Fear Free get's to the core of what free speech really is, and the impact it has on our day to day lives. It compares the UK with Belarus and shows what life is really like without Free Speech. It tells chilling stories of a dictatorship that destroys people's standard of living.
More Like This
An Independent Mind
2008
How do you deal with threats of imprisonment for drawing a cartoon of the president? What does it mean if you are thrown out of your country for singing a song? How does it feel to be condemned for denying the existence of the Holocaust? An Independent Mind explores one of the most important and controversial human rights: freedom of speech.Through testimonies from eight people who have experienced problems as a result of expressing their personal opinions, filmmaker Rex Bloomstein explores the limits of freedom of expression. It is not always easy to to find out where these are. Obviously, it is not difficult to empathise with Reggae singer Tiken Jah Kakoly, who was forced to flee his native Ivory Coast, or with the Algerian cartoonist Ali Dilem, who was condemned to nine years in jail. But does the same apply to Holocaust denier David Irving or the Basque rock group Soziedad Alkoholika that ridicules victims of ETA violence?
More info →
Salman Rushdie: Death on a Trail
2019 · ★ 6.6
An intimate portrait, in his own words, of the Indian writer Salman Rushdie, author of The Satanic Verses (1988), thirty years after the fatwa uttered by the Iranian Ayatollah Khomeini: his youth in multicultural Bombay, his life in England, his many years of forced hiding, his thoughts on President Trump's United States of America.
More info →
Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry
2012 · ★ 7.1
An account of the many tribulations that Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, known for his subversive art and political activism, endured between 2008 and 2011, from his rise to world fame via the Internet to his highly publicized arrest due to his frequent and daring confrontations with the Chinese authorities.
More info →
Acorn and the Firestorm
2017 · ★ 5
For 40 years, the community-organizing group ACORN advocated for America’s poorest communities, while its detractors accused it of promoting the worst of liberal policies. Riding high on the momentum of Barack Obama’s presidential victory in 2008, ACORN was at its political zenith when a hidden-camera video sparked a national scandal and brought it crashing down. The story involves voter fraud, a fake prostitute, and the rise of Breitbart.com.
More info →
Carceller, the Man Who Died Twice
2021 · ★ 7.5
The life story of Vicente Miguel Carceller (1890-1940), a Spanish editor committed to freedom who, through his weekly magazine La Traca, connected with the common people while maintaining a dangerous pulse with the powerful.
More info →
The Gulag Archipelago: The Book That Changed Russian History
2023 · ★ 8.2
The story of Russian writer and Soviet dissident Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008) and his masterpiece, The Gulag Archipelago, published in Paris in 1973, which forever shook the very foundations of communist ideology.
More info →Outspoken: Music for Free Speech
2025
Take a seat with us at FIRE’s first-ever classical music concert in support of free expression: “Outspoken: Music for Free Speech.” At the podium is conductor Rebecca Bryant Novak, a former doctoral student at the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music. Taking the stage for the first time since she was expelled without due process after speaking out about alleged harassment, Rebecca leads an all-volunteer orchestra in an unforgettable evening of music. Internationally acclaimed musicians, violinist Lara St. John and oboist Katherine Needleman, bring the stage to life with works by composers who themselves faced censorship, from Mozart to Shostakovich. Between performances, FIRE staff and special guests reflect on why free expression is essential for artists, and for all of us. The arts cannot thrive without free expression. Thank you to everyone who made this night possible!
More info →
Endangered
2022 · ★ 6.3
A sobering look at the erosion of democracy & freedom of the press in the United States and abroad.
More info →
Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing
2006 · ★ 6.7
Shut Up and Sing is a documentary about the country band from Texas called the Dixie Chicks and how one tiny comment against President Bush dropped their number one hit off the charts and caused fans to hate them, destroy their CD’s, and protest at their concerts. A film about freedom of speech gone out of control and the three girls lives that were forever changed by a small anti-Bush comment
More info →
CORONA.FILM - Prologue
2021 · ★ 7.9
As the first part of our investigation, the CORONA.FILM prologue will delve into the science behind the pandemic. Starting at the very beginning, we shine a light on the responses. The aim is not to point the finger; our aim is to tell the whole story in all its complexity, as we believe that justice cannot prevail if only one side of the story is told.
More info →
Wealth of a Nation
1964
"This film explores how freedom of speech — including dissent — is afforded to all Americans, and shows freedom of expression in art, music, dance, architecture, and science. The film also emphasizes the importance of the individual’s contribution to the whole of society and demonstrates how a productive and creative society is formed by the open and respectful exchange of ideas. The film was written, produced, and directed by William Greaves" (National Archives).
More info →
Obaida
2019
OBAIDA, a short film by Matthew Cassel, explores a Palestinian child’s experience of Israeli military arrest. Each year, some 700 Palestinian children undergo military detention in a system where ill-treatment is widespread and institutionalized. For these young detainees, few rights are guaranteed, even on paper. After release, the experience of detention continues to shape and mark former child prisoners’ path forward.
More info →