FreedomFest 2025

In the lush woods of New York State’s Catskill Mountains, an almost mythical memory lives on. Of a time when men — armed with rifles and pitchforks, disguised in spooky masks and gowns — descended from bucolic hills to stage the Anti-Rent War, or “Second American Revolution,” as they called it, to challenge the unbridled power of the patroons. That farmers’ uprising almost 200 years ago changed the course of American history, ushering in land reform, reaffirming property rights and paving the way to the creation of Abraham Lincoln’s Republican Party. Today, although largely forgotten, the historic uprising lives on through direct descendants of those rebellious farmers, through their stories, songs, and eerie costumes preserved since the 1840s. CALICO REBELLION is a cinematic journey into small town America, its idealism and the violence that percolates just beneath the surface. The film explores themes of land, belonging, and historical identity of the people who continue to shape the political landscape of the country. Q&A with Nick Gillespie.