This timely documentary follows a group of embattled librarians who, during an unprecedented wave of book banning in Texas, Florida and beyond, join forces as unlikely defenders fighting for intellectual freedom on the front lines of democracy.

Librarians emerge as first responders in the fight for democracy – as they well know, controlling the flow of ideas means control over communities. In Texas, the Krause List targets 850 books focused on race and LGBTQia+ stories – triggering sweeping book bans across the U.S. at an unprecedented rate. As tensions escalate, librarians connect the dots from heated school and library board meetings nationwide to lay bare the underpinnings of White Christian Nationalism fueling the censorship efforts. Despite facing harassment, threats, and laws aimed at criminalizing their work, the librarians’ rallying cry for freedom to read is a chilling cautionary tale.

In a dystopian saga akin to a real-life Fahrenheit 451 sequel, director Kim A. Snyder’s gripping documentary traverses small-town USA with riveting interviews and troves of archival material to reveal the story of the country’s heroic librarians, everyday Americans are risking everything to uphold the most fundamental of rights.

Part of Eden Court’s Cinema Against Fascism programme for Our Freedom, a powerful new season of films exploring what freedom means in age of rising hate, division and authoritarianism and how communities around the world are shaping more just and hopeful futures.