This MLK Day at Hyde Park Art Center, Pentimenti is proud to premiere “The Next Act is Freedom,” (18min) a document of the Resilience Arts Festival in October 2025 — a first-of-its-kind convening of artists impacted by the criminal legal system, presented by Mud Theatre Project and The Chicago Torture Justice Center. Exploring themes of healing and re-entry, the film presents four days of performance and poetry, as well as conversations with police torture survivors, currently incarcerated writers, and abolitionist advocates.  

Filmmakers: Mariam Aejaz, Mary Huber, Sumiah Salloum, Toni Smalls, Drew Smalls-Verneau

"Making the Short Documentary" Instructors: Brian Ashby, Giorgia Harvey, Mike David Thomas

Learn more about MLK 2026: Chaos or Community at Hyde Park Art Center