FREE JOAN LITTLE
How a murder trial galvanized a revolutionary movement.
“Somebody has to make the sacrifice in order for there to be a change in the system.
So it may as well be me.” – Joan Little
ABOUT THE FILM
FREE JOAN LITTLE tells the story of the landmark 1975 murder trial of the first woman in U.S. history to be acquitted for using deadly force to resist sexual assault. At 20 years old, Joan (pronounced Jo-Ann) Little was incarcerated in North Carolina when she killed a white jailer who she said tried to rape her. Her trial drew national attention, becoming a rallying point for civil rights, women’s rights and prison reform. The case brought together activists including Angela Davis and Rosa Parks, and catalyzed a national conversation about sexual assault and racial justice. Little’s fight for freedom remains a defining moment in American legal and social history.
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT
We’re proud to announce that FREE JOAN LITTLE has been named to Cinema Eye Honors’ Shorts List of the best documentary shorts of 2026, recognizing outstanding artistic achievement in nonfiction film and television.
UPCOMING EVENTS
RECENT COVERAGE
- Cinema Eye Honors Unveil Nominees for 2027’s Best Documentary Films and Series | IndieWire
- Cinema Eye Honors Reveals First Awards Announcements For 2027 | Cinema Eye
- Top Prizes At Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival | DEADLINE
- A Landmark Self-Defense Case in the Age of Mass Incarceration | Ms. Magazine
- Conversation with Peabody Award-winning filmmaker Yoruba Richen | vHopeful Conversations Podcast
- New Film on Landmark 1975 Murder Acquittal of Woman Sexually Assaulted by Prison Guard | Democracy Now!
- FREE JOAN LITTLE Woodstock 2026 | Unseen Films
- ‘Free Joan Little’ and the Power of Resilience | Black Girl Nerds
- ‘Free Joan Little’ Screened at America’s Oldest Penitentiary | Retro Report
- In Conversation: Yoruba Richen and Clarissa Brooks | Oxford American
- Documentaries at BlackStar Film Festival 2026 | Movie Jawn
- Yoruba Richen- Can Documentary Films Help Achieve Social Justice? | Conversations with Jim Zirin
- The People Set Me Free: Yoruba Richen on ‘Free Joan Little’ | The King’s Necktie
A Promised Land Film in association with Retro Report
Directed and Produced by Yoruba Richen
Produced by Christalyn Hampton and Bonnie Bertram
Edited by Hannah Vanderlan
Director/ Producer Yoruba Richen is an award-winning documentary filmmaker who won a Trailblazer award from Black Public Media. Her most recent film, “American Coup: Wilmington 1898,” was nominated for a Peabody Award. Her film “The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks” won a Peabody Award, a Gracie Award, and was honored by the Television Academy. Other recent works include the Emmy-nominated films “American Reckoning” and “How It Feels to Be Free.” Her film, “The Killing of Breonna Taylor,” won an NAACP Image Award. Yoruba is the Founding Director of the Documentary Program at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at C.U.N.Y.
LENGTH: 35 minutes
LANGUAGE: English
COUNTRY: USA
YEAR: 2025
