2025 (USA)
Directed by: David France and Jesse Short Bull
For five decades, Leonard Peltier’s name has been synonymous with a pivotal moment in modern Native American history. Using a mix of contemporary interviews, archival footage, and AI recreations, Oglala Lakota filmmaker Jesse Short Bull (Lakota Nation vs. United States) and David France bring to life the turbulent era of the American Indian Movement (AIM), when Indigenous activists rose up against oppression, and the US government responded with force. The film traces Peltier’s journey—from Indian boarding schools to his involvement with AIM to the deadly 1975 Pine Ridge shootout with FBI agents that led to his conviction. With evidence long challenged as falsified or inconclusive, Peltier became a global symbol of political imprisonment. (President Biden commuted his sentence, leading to his release on February 18, 2025.) Free Leonard Peltier revisits his case in a new era, examining the forces that shaped his story and its lasting impact.
Premiere – Sundance Film Festival
Northstar Village Cinemas – December 6 – 7:45pm