Freedom's Path

Fantastic story, gorgeous cinematography, riveting acting. A pleasure to watch from start to finish. A great perspective on the civil war and slavery not often explored in film with great characters to guide the viewer through the journey. Loved it!

This was such an amazing, powerful, and extremely emotional film! The message in Freedom's Path is incredibly deep. The actors and actresses were fantastic! Brett Smith did a wonderful job directing. The music was also very beautiful. Overall, I believe Freedom's Path will go down in history and has every bit of potential to win an Oscar.

As a member of The McIntosh County Shouters and being featured in this film. I have to firstly thank you for the opportunity to be apart of such an amazing film. The fact that you use managed to use us for film as well as using older recordings of the founding members for the group for the sound track paid homage to the power and beauty of the ring shout and it's role in the fabric of the American Story. For the first time in film history utilizing the authentic ring shout in the correct context as a way of weaving a piece of unknown Black Musical and Cultural History into a film to talk about the struggles of Freed Black's during the time of the Civil War was so beautifully done. The film was deeply emotional and allowing viewers to get a view not only into life during the Civil War, but also giving an honest and truthful account of what the view of the Civil War was for Whites of the Union as well as Freed Black's. This film was poetic.

Although the historical basis of this film is America's Civil War, the theme is timeless. The story is told from the perspective of a young, naive soldier consigned to fight in the Confederate army. From the opening scene, it is clear that he does not understand the mission he is embarking upon. As he takes each step along his journey, he learns what is at stake on Freedom's Path, and gains the courage to do what he can to stand for what he knows is right.

From the first frame to the end of the credits, this film did not give any indication that it had been made as an independent film. The cinematography, direction, and acting were superb. Parts of it were a little hard to watch simply because they felt so real and lets face it, there are elements of history that are painful to admit. All the actors were incredible. RJ Cyler and Gerran Howell were exceptional in their roles. It will be very interesting to watch their careers grow after this film. Ewen Bremner was horrible--in the best sense...he really sank into that role and played it well. Carol Sutton embodied the quintessential Caddy of that day. The casting could not have been better.

Brett Smith's direction and Chris Koser's cinematography were also outstanding. The soundtrack was extraordinary as well. The "Choir" (McIntosh County Shouters) did a beautiful job, as did Freddie Palmer (who led the songs and sang solos).

This is a great example of an independent film that clearly deserves a larger platform.