Free Renty: Lanier v. Harvard

Following a legal case equally unusual and fascinating, Free Renty: Lanier v. Harvard tells the story of Tamara Lanier’s determined effort to force Harvard University, an extremely deep-pocketed adversary, to cede ownership of a set of invaluable daguerrotypes that are known to be the earliest photographic depictions of American slaves -- and of one slave in particular, Renty, who was Lanier’s great-great-great-grandfather. From the gathering of a talented legal team to the intricacies of the arguments to be deployed in this unprecedented case, right down to the risks and rewards of using the word “reparations,” the film unfolds as a history lesson, a mystery story, and most importantly, as a unique pathway into wider questions of cultural appropriation and racial justice. “Who owns the rights to the violence of the past?” This question, so personal to Tamara Lanier and her family, becomes a vital and provocative challenge for us all to consider. (Woodstock Film Festival)