LAST DAY OF FREEDOM
A film by Dee Hibbert-Jones and Nomi Talisman
2015, 32 minutes
2015, 32 minutes
No. 012
DOCUMENTARY
DOCUMENTARY
2017 Notable Video | American Library Association
2016 Academy Award Nominee | Best Documentary Short Subject
2016 Academy Award Nominee | Best Documentary Short Subject
Description
2016 Academy Award nominee for Best Documentary Short Subject, this extraordinary documentary is an investigation into some of the most pressing social issues of our time - racial bias, veteran’s rights, mental health care, criminal justice - through one man's heartbreaking story.
When Bill Babbitt realizes his brother Manny has committed a crime, he agonizes over his decision — should he call the police?
Created from over 32,000 hand-drawn images, Last Day of Freedom is a richly animated documentary that tells the story of Bill’s decision to stand by his brother, a Veteran returning from war, as he faces criminal charges, racism, and ultimately the death penalty.
When Bill Babbitt realizes his brother Manny has committed a crime, he agonizes over his decision — should he call the police?
Created from over 32,000 hand-drawn images, Last Day of Freedom is a richly animated documentary that tells the story of Bill’s decision to stand by his brother, a Veteran returning from war, as he faces criminal charges, racism, and ultimately the death penalty.
Festivals
2016 Academy Award Nominee, Best Documentary Short Subject
Winner, Best Short Film, International Documentary Association Awards
Winner, Best Short, Full Frame Documentary Film Festival
Winner, Film Maker Award, Center for Documentary Studies at Duke
Winner, Best Short Documentary Hamptons International Film Festival
Winner, Outstanding Documentary Short Film, Tall Grass Int. Film Festival
Winner, Animated Short Doc Award, Bar Harbor, MA
Winner, Impact Award (In) Justice for All International Film Festival, IL
Honorary Mention, Best Animated Documentary Short Film, Dok Leipzig, DE
Platinum Award Winner Spotlight Documentary Film Awards
Winner, Best Short Film, International Documentary Association Awards
Winner, Best Short, Full Frame Documentary Film Festival
Winner, Film Maker Award, Center for Documentary Studies at Duke
Winner, Best Short Documentary Hamptons International Film Festival
Winner, Outstanding Documentary Short Film, Tall Grass Int. Film Festival
Winner, Animated Short Doc Award, Bar Harbor, MA
Winner, Impact Award (In) Justice for All International Film Festival, IL
Honorary Mention, Best Animated Documentary Short Film, Dok Leipzig, DE
Platinum Award Winner Spotlight Documentary Film Awards
Reviews
“The most idiosyncratic and moving documentary, rendered in black-and-white line drawing, is the agonizing story of Manny Babbitt. It will break your heart.” - The New York Times
“The closest to a work of art itself is Last Day of Freedom… It’s a quietly devastating work from first-time filmmakers Dee Hibbert-Jones and Nomi Talisman.” - Los Angeles Times
"Three and a half stars! A powerful, emotional documentary, this is highly recommended." - Video Librarian
"Highly recommended! Superbly provides much individual and group contemplation. It addresses head on the need for caring for those that are victimized by our society and fall through the cracks. Whether for politics, sociology or psychology viewers will find this film both intriguing and disturbing." - Educational Media Reviews Online
“This film is a gem. Exquisitely rendered. In addition to its compelling narrative baseline, Last Day of Freedom’s visual artistry is stunning. Watching this film will remind you of all that remains unsaid—on all sides—in our current political food fight.” - The Nation
“Last Day of Freedom blisteringly attests to the inhumanity of the death penalty and the legal system’s racial bias through a dexterous use of animation that reflects Babbitt’s existential anguish.” - Slant Magazine
“l love Last Day of Freedom. It boasts beauty and importance equally. Talisman and Hibbert-Jones breathe palpable empathy into their animation, and Babbitt’s internal conflict feels as real as the societal problems it reflects.” - The Observer
“Last Day of Freedom is a gem of a documentary both in style and content. Directors Dee Hibbert-Jones and Nomi Talisman use bare-bones animation to tell this story in a surprisingly evocative way.” - Santa Fe New Mexican
“A work of art in its own right… so artfully accomplished and so nuanced and complex.” - Indiewire
“The closest to a work of art itself is Last Day of Freedom… It’s a quietly devastating work from first-time filmmakers Dee Hibbert-Jones and Nomi Talisman.” - Los Angeles Times
"Three and a half stars! A powerful, emotional documentary, this is highly recommended." - Video Librarian
"Highly recommended! Superbly provides much individual and group contemplation. It addresses head on the need for caring for those that are victimized by our society and fall through the cracks. Whether for politics, sociology or psychology viewers will find this film both intriguing and disturbing." - Educational Media Reviews Online
“This film is a gem. Exquisitely rendered. In addition to its compelling narrative baseline, Last Day of Freedom’s visual artistry is stunning. Watching this film will remind you of all that remains unsaid—on all sides—in our current political food fight.” - The Nation
“Last Day of Freedom blisteringly attests to the inhumanity of the death penalty and the legal system’s racial bias through a dexterous use of animation that reflects Babbitt’s existential anguish.” - Slant Magazine
“l love Last Day of Freedom. It boasts beauty and importance equally. Talisman and Hibbert-Jones breathe palpable empathy into their animation, and Babbitt’s internal conflict feels as real as the societal problems it reflects.” - The Observer
“Last Day of Freedom is a gem of a documentary both in style and content. Directors Dee Hibbert-Jones and Nomi Talisman use bare-bones animation to tell this story in a surprisingly evocative way.” - Santa Fe New Mexican
“A work of art in its own right… so artfully accomplished and so nuanced and complex.” - Indiewire