Liberty
3 Stories about Life & Death

55 Minutes |

The most life affirming film of the year is a documentary about death.”

—Metro Newspapers

»Detailed Study Guide (PDF)

BUY LIBERTY 3 Stories about Life & Death

  • Educational institutions and community groups
  • Professors and university students
    • If your university/college library is already a Kanopy subscriber, you have immediate streaming access.
      STREAM ON KANOPY
  • PREVIEW ON VIMEO
  • If your public library subscribes to Kanopy and you have a library card, you may be able to STREAM ON KANOPY

DESCRIPTION

This extraordinary film interweaves the stories of three close lesbian friends: Joyce Fulton, who died over the course of two years from a brain tumor; Mary Bell Wilson, who, with indefatigable courage, faces up to her own losing battle with lymphoma; and Nan Golub, a black-leather-jacketed, platinum-dyed New York city artist, very much alive. Liberty demystifies death, dispels misinformation about age and sexual orientation and reminds us that life is worth living, even worth celebrating.

REVIEWS

Joyce Fulton in Liberty: 3 Stories about Life & Death

“Incredible and moving. Liberty manages to make death and dying real and, at the same time, full of love and support.This is the way all of us would like to die, I suspect.”

—Linda Weckler, MSW/School of Social Work, Carleton University, Ottowa

“A beautiful program. Courageous and joyful.”

—Tim Ramirez, LOGO MTV Networks

“I showed Liberty to my class in Death, Dying and Bereavement today. Students learned a lot from it, smiled and laughed at the humor, felt sad over the sad parts, and rejoiced over the happy ones. Many of these are things we’ve been talking about in a theoretical manner. This made them all come alive!”

—Juliet Rothman, Public Health Professor, UC Berkeley
Mary Belle Wilson in Liberty: 3 Stories about Life & Death

“For those who work with older adults, Liberty offers thought-provoking perspectives on care giving, the need for culturally sensitive services, and the diversity of family structures.”

—Gerard Koskovich, Lesbian and Gay Aging Issues Network of the American Society on Aging

Liberty vividly portrays the value of friendship and support in caring for the sick and dying. A must see for my gerontology students in ‘Women in the 2nd Half of Life’!”

—Vivian Silva, MSW/Gerontology, San Jose State University
Nan Golub in Liberty: 3 Stories about Life & Death

“We can learn many things from this film: what constitutes family; what kinds of support people need when facing surgery, cancer treatment, and death; and how we can enhance that support.”

—Katherine Handy, PhD, RN, Oncology Clinical Nurse Specialist, St. Vincent’s Cancer Care Center, New York City

“An extraordinary celebration of lesbian community.”

—NewFest, The New York Gay & Lesbian Film Festival

»PDF of review from Visual Anthropology Review (Vol. 25 #1, Spring 2009)

AWARDS

Liberty: 3 Stories about Life & Death, InFact Documentary Showcase
InFACT qualifies documentaries for consideration in the Academy Awards®
Liberty: 3 Stories about Life & Death, Best Short Doc, Paris Lesbian Film Festival

SCREENINGS

  • Broadcast on LOGO, MTV Networks’ historic gay and lesbian channel
  • American Society on Aging and National Council on The Aging Joint Conference
  • National Mature Media Silver Award/Healthcare Division
  • Bodies in Crisis, Athens Institute for Contemporary Art Athens, Georgia
  • IDA’s Four City Tour (San Diego, Little Rock, Austin, and Seattle)
  • Cinequest San Jose International Film Festival
  • Ashland Independent Film Festival, Ashland, Oregon
  • PhilaFilm The Philadelphia International Film Festival
  • Port Townsend Film Festival Port Townsend, Washington

Lesbian & Gay Film Festivals

  • Outfest, Los Angeles
  • Newfest, New York
  • InsideOut, Toronto
  • Frameline, San Francisco
  • Reeling, Chicago
  • Austin
  • Lesbian Looks, Tucson
  • Berlin Lesbian Film Festival
  • Brussels
  • Paris Lesbian Film Festival