The Art of Freedom : A Screening + A Conversation

About the Film

The Art of Freedom is a 16 minute documentary that was developed through a Queens World Filmmaker’s Bootcamp at The Fortune Society in Long Island City.  The film focuses on six participants whose lives have been impacted by the criminal justice system and how they all came to art making and what that creative expression makes possible.

This is a participant led story. It is honest, personal, and grounded in lived experience. Participants worked alongside Queens World Festival Associates to shape the story, conduct interviews, and rotate through all on set roles. Everyone contributed to every stage of the process. The result is not only a film. It is a shared act of creation.

About the Filmmaker’s Bootcamp

The Queens World Filmmaker’s Bootcamp is a hands-on program that guides participants through creating a film from start to finish. At The Fortune Society, the Bootcamp became a space for creative workforce development and cross generational collaboration. Festival Associates, many of whom are first generation college students and artists, worked side by side with participants. Together they built skills, confidence, and community.

From the Process gallery of the Bootcamp and production – coming tomorrow.

About The Fortune Society

The Fortune Society supports successful reentry from incarceration and promotes alternatives to incarceration. Their work is rooted in belief in the power of individuals to change, building lives through participant centered services, and changing minds through education and advocacy.

Through the Fortune Arts Community, they use art and creative practice to build community and imagine future freedoms.