Floyd Abrams: Speaking Freely

A film by Yael Melamede

Floyd Abrams: Speaking Freely explores America’s dedication to the foundational principles of free speech and free press through the groundbreaking work of attorney Floyd Abrams. A biopic of the First Amendment told through Abrams’ important cases, we reveal how this legal giant helped transform the First Amendment from an often ignored principle into a bulwark of American democracy. As the nation grapples with issues such as hate speech, book banning, the impact of money in politics, artificial intelligence and the dangers of boundless internet communication in a rapidly changing media ecosystem, Abrams continues to advocate for broad First Amendment protections. The film offers critical context for how we came to this moment where free speech issues have never felt more complicated and urgent, and where the nation is wondering a new: what price are we willing to pay for free speech?

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Director

Yael Melamede

Producer

Yael Melamede & Clare Smith Marash

Runtime

83 minutes

Captions Available

English

Language

English

Press

“Few people have done as much to shape the first amendment as it exists today.”

- Jameel Jaffer

“If there were the history of defense of the first amendment in modern times, there probably wouldn’t be a chapter about Floyd Abrams, it would be part one.”

- Nina Totenberg
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Floyd Abrams: Speaking Freely
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