“Freedoms Under Assault” (2025). A Documentary by Robert Arnove and Jacob Comforty (77 Mins).  In English.

Monday March 30th, 4:30pm to 6:30pm, Hilton San Francisco Union Square, at Imperial A.

Discussion following the screening with Robert Arnove.

Freedom Under Assault is a compelling and timely documentary that interrogates the erosion of core academic values at Indiana University, weaving archival footage with firsthand testimony to reveal how institutional power, policy shifts, and political pressures have converged to challenge academic freedom, freedom of speech, and freedom of assembly on campus. Directed by award-winning filmmaker Jacky Comforty and IU Professor Emeritus Robert Arnove, the film traces two years of escalating conflict—from arrests of student protesters to contested expressive activity policies—while centering voices from faculty, students, and alumni who articulate deep concern about the changing character of a once-world-class university. Through its vivid storytelling and critical lens, Freedom Under Assault not only documents specific events but also sparks urgent reflection on the broader threats facing higher education in the United States today.  

Directors

Robert Arnove

Robert Arnove is an award-winning scholar and filmmaker. His latest co-directed/produced documentary with Susanne Schwibs, Thunder Rolls, received the Jury’s Choice Award at the San Francisco 2024 SuperFest, and screened at our Festivalette in Chicago last year. His latest book is Talent Abounds: Profiles of Master Teachers and Peak Performers. He was a past president of the Comparative and International Education Society.

Jacky Comforty

Jacky Comforty  is an internationally acclaimed award winning independent filmmaker, oral historian, researcher and author. His films include the award-winning Trilogy about Bulgaria’s Jews and the Holocaust Balkan Jazz (June, 2024), Monument to Love, (2023), The Optimists (2001), and In the Shadow of Memory (1998), Step by Step Heather’s Story (1995) and Through a Glass, Lightly (1993). He is the author of The Stolen Narrative of the Bulgarian Jews and the Holocaust.

Cinematic Spaces of Education Festivalette 

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