David Graeber: Living Free
David Graeber, world-renowned anthropologist and activist, changed how people think about work, debt, and democracy. Ideas like "We are the 99%" – the rallying cry of Occupy Wall Street – continue to resonate around the world. David Graeber: Living Free inspires audiences to live, as he did, as if they are already free.
David Graeber was a brilliant and trailblazing anthropologist. He asked fundamental questions about the value of labor, role of money, and practice of political participation. Throughout his career he authored numerous best-selling books including Debt: The First 5,000 Years, Bullshit Jobs: A Theory, and his posthumous work, The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity. The writing was purposefully conversational and accessible which he described as being kind to the reader. His work was translated into more than 30 languages.
As an activist, David put himself at the service of social movements. He joined the Global Justice Movement, which opposed neoliberal trade policies. He supported Rojava, the democratic revolution unfolding on the ground in Northern Syria. He is most known for his influential role in Occupy Wall Street, a grassroots response to the economic crisis and call for direct democracy. David believed in the possibility of human freedom, and committed his life to making this a reality.
Director Marisa Holmes, an early organizer of Occupy and close friend, spent time filming with David in the years before his sudden death in September, 2020. This footage will be woven together with home movies, public lectures, and interviews with David’s friends and collaborators, including his co-author on The Dawn of Everything, David Wengrow.
Across the globe, authoritarian forces are gaining power. Anger that once fueled movements on the left has been driven to the hard right. David drew parallels with the 1930s, a time of economic instability and rising fascism. He thought a similar moment was unfolding now, and felt an historical responsibility to take action.
CREDITS
Director: Marisa Holmes
Producer: David Becker, Megan Sperry
Executive Producer: Barbara Kopple
We can accept donations via Zelle (through your bank account) @ fiscal@woodstockfilmfestival.org or by check (made out and sent to Woodstock Film Festival, PO Box 1406, Woodstock, NY 12498) or ACH/wire transfer for any amount. Please clearly note you are donating to DAVID GRAEBER: LIVING FREE.
DAVID GRAEBER: LIVING FREE is a fiscally sponsored project of The Woodstock Film Festival, Inc. a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Donations are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law. Your generous contribution will support an outreach campaign to help DAVID GRAEBER: LIVING FREE reach a wide audience.
Please contact fiscal@woodstockfilmfestival.org for any questions regarding donations.
Fiscally Sponsored Projects
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ARTICHOKE
When a former English professor — known for his quick wit and love of language — begins to forget his words, his close relationship with his daughter is put to the ultimate test.
Credits
Director: Jodie Markell
Screenwriter: Karen Siff Exkorn
Cinematographer: Peter Deming
Executive Producer: Karen Siff Exkorn
Producer: Amy Gossels
Producer: Jennifer Potts
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THE CHOICE
When her son is killed by the IDF, Iris Haim’s search for meaning leads her to Dr. Edith Eger, an Auschwitz survivor whose story reshapes Iris’s path to healing. THE CHOICE, directed by John David Coles, is a life-affirming documentary about trauma, survival, and the radical power of choice.
Credits
Director: John David Coles
Producers: John David Coles, Jason Orans, Pamela Ryan, Tamar Yoffe
Executive Producers: Veronica Leff, Miguel Leff, Rick Itzkowich, Marianne Engle, Rob Engle, Laurie M. Tisch, Cliff Chenfeld
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CHRONOVISOR
In 1950s Italy, a Vatican Priest built a device allegedly capable of displaying images from the past on a TV screen. Seventy years later in New York City, an austere academic becomes fascinated by the machine. Her obsessive research takes her to the edge of a scientific and personal upheaval.
Credits
Writer/Directors: Kevin Walker and Jack Auen
Producer: Jason Zuriff
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DAVID GRAEBER: LIVING FREE
David Graeber, world-renowned anthropologist and activist, changed how people think about work, debt, and democracy. Ideas like "We are the 99%" – the rallying cry of Occupy Wall Street – continue to resonate around the world. David Graeber: Living Free inspires audiences to live, as he did, as if they are already free.
Credits
Director: Marisa Holmes
Producer: David Becker, Megan Sperry
Executive Producer: Barbara Kopple
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FOOL
After getting dropped by his agent, William Direshore, a desperate young actor, has a chance encounter with a sorceress who offers him a soul-binding deal.
CreditsWriter/Director: Kai-Lilly Karpman
Producer: James Nash
Co-producer: Jack Lynch
Cast: Henry Hunter Hall as William Direshore, Joe Bell as Adam Andé
Director of Photography: Skyla Page
Creative Advisor: Kasi Lemmons
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HOTSPOT
A city couple and their teenage son move upstate to finalize their Airbnb rental, obliviously stirring up tensions with their next-door neighbor, a notorious arsonist.
CreditsDirector: Hudson Price
Producer: Ethan Choi
Writer: Hudson Price
Associate Producer: Gili-Jo Froman, Sebastian Kim
Editor: Hudson Price
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THE PEOPLE'S CAMP
Camp Woodland (1938–1962) was a progressive summer camp in New York’s Catskill Mountains, dedicated to folklore, music, and social justice. Known for its racial inclusivity and activism, it preserved Black history and inspired artists like Pete Seeger, Bruce Langhorne, Bill McAdoo, and Janis Ian. Though it closed in 1962, its legacy lives on through former campers turned activists, and a documentary highlights its enduring relevance in today’s fight for justice.
CreditsCosta Boutsikaris, Director, Editor, Cinematographer
Bill Horne, Advisor
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PIDVISKA (SUSPENSION)
In 1990, in a small Soviet Ukrainian town, a rebellious teenage boy fights against his oppressive environment and his seemingly complacent father. The totalitarian State and the rampant antisemitism threaten the very fabric of his family and their dream of a better life in America.
Credits
Director: Gleb Osatinski
Producer: Gleb Osatinski, J. Dixon Byrne
Executive Producer: Ira Sachs
Writer: Gleb Osatinski, Marina Petrova
Co-Producer: SMART CASUAL
Cinematographer: Vytautas Katkus
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RIBS
Moscow 1963. When a Soviet doctor is suddenly brutalized and taken away by the KGB, his young assistant Anya must make a difficult decision - risk her life to provide a clandestine service to a mysterious patient, or walk away from those in need.
Credits
Director: Christopher Hills Eaton
Producers: Matthew Rachamkin
Executive Producers: David Zucker
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SOUTHWOOD HOLOGRAPHICS AIR
Southwood Holographics is a holography center located in the Hudson Valley. We are focused on the production of holograms, education in holography, and the pursuit of new holographic technologies. We produce large and small scale holograms for artists and offer educational opportunities for individuals and groups through online, and hybrid, in-person workshops. We will also be relaunching our Artist In Residence program.
Southwood Holographics is one of the few fully operating holography studios (optics & darkroom) in the world that has been designed for creating all types of holographic images. The beautiful rural setting is optimal for the vibration free environment required for the process of creating both analogue and digital holograms as well.
TeamHART PERRY, Founder & Director
M MELISSA CRENSHAW, Lead Holographic ConsultantDAVE BATTIN, Lead Holographic Technician
CHRISSY STUART, Executive Director
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WILD, WILD EAST
Romania contains 70% of Europe’s last primary forests, but IKEA, the largest consumer of wood in the world, is logging these forests close to extinction. Wild, Wild East follows activist Gabi Paun, who risks his life to stop them. This film will challenge audiences to reflect on how a global corporation can implicate us all.
CreditsDirector: Maia Wikler
Producer: Cecilia Brown
Writer: Maia Wikler, Cecilia Brown
Co-Producer: Audrey Popa, Maia Wikler
