About

Pentimenti is excited to announce the streaming premiere of The Next Act Is Freedom, a film created by our “Making the Short Doc” class at the Hyde Park Art Center. The film debuted as part of HPAC’s MLK Day 2026: Chaos or Community programming, and was followed by a discussion featuring the filmmakers and participants.

The Next Act Is Freedom (18 mins) is 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

"Making the Short Documentary" is a workshop held at the Hyde Park Art Center in which participants create a short film over the course of ten weeks. During this short span of time, the filmmakers conceive of, shoot, and edit a complete short documentary film. For more information about Pentimenti’s filmmaking offerings at HPAC, or if you’d like to join a future class, please visit our website.