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Free Leonard Peltier – Opening Night

Free Leonard Peltier – Opening Night
Loading Free Leonard Peltier – Opening Night trailer.

Free Leonard Peltier – Opening Night

Dir. Jesse Short Bull, David France
110 min

MSPIFF44 Opening Night Film

Directors Jesse Short Bull and David France, Producer Jhane Myers, and Film Participant Holly Cook Macarro Attending

Wednesday, April 2nd at 7:00pm - RUSH ONLY

Wednesday, April 2nd at 7:15pm - RUSH ONLY

Wednesday, April 2nd at 7:30pm - RUSH ONLY

Opening Night tickets include the film screening and Opening Party featuring tastes from Owamni.

In Free Leonard Peltier, acclaimed directors Jesse Short Bull and David France revisit one of the most discredited convictions in modern America—the double life sentences handed down to Indian rights activist Leonard Peltier for the 1975 murder of two FBI agents on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation of South Dakota. Using a mix of contemporary interviews, archival footage, and AI recreations, Short Bull and France bring alive the energy of the times, when the American Indian Movement (AIM) was rising up to protest centuries of injustice and oppression, and the US government was pushing back hard. Half a century ago, the US government put Leonard Peltier in prison for murder. This year, he’s now home – but not yet pardoned, and still innocent.

MSPIFF44 Opening Night Sponsored by Minnesota Star Tribune
Additional Support from Minnesota Humanities Center

Film Details

Program: SEE ALL MSPIFF44 FILMS
Film Type: Documentary Feature
Release Year: 2025
Runtime: 110 min
Country/Region: USA
Language: English
Print Source: The Film Collaborative
Tags: Biography, Documentary, Documentary Feature, Guest Attending, History, Human Rights, Indigenous Voices, Politics, Social Justice
Festival Programs: BIPOC Stories, Documentaries, Special Presentations

Cast/Crew

Director: Jesse Short Bull, David France
Executive Producer: Jodi Archambault, The Schmidt Family Foundation, James Costa, Trevor Burgess, Lekha Singh, Bryn Mooser, Justin Lacob, Laura Choi Raycroft
Producer: David France, Jhane Myers, Paul Mcguire, Bird Runningwater
Cinematographer: Kyle Bell
Editor: Adam Evans, Hannah Vanderlan
Composer: Mato Wayuhi