Floyd Abrams: Speaking Freely is a compelling exploration of America's enduring, yet often contentious, dedication to free speech and a free press, viewed through the lens of a legal titan's groundbreaking work. This Emmy-nominated documentary traces the remarkable path of the First Amendment, from its earliest precedents to the urgent and complex challenges facing free speech today.

Through Abrams' landmark cases – from defending the Pentagon Papers in the Supreme Court to navigating the complexities of Citizens United and the digital age – the film illuminates how one man helped transform a foundational principle into a bulwark of American democracy. Featuring insights from legal experts, journalists, and Abrams himself, the film offers crucial context for understanding the evolution of free speech law and prompts a vital question for our time: what price are we willing to pay for free speech?

By examining these complex and often contentious issues through Abrams' fifty-year career and his continued advocacy for broad First Amendment protections, the film invites viewers to consider the "increasingly heavy price we pay for such freedoms". Ultimately, Floyd Abrams: Speaking Freely provides critical context for understanding how we arrived at this moment, where free speech has never felt more complicated and urgent, and prompts us to consider the future trajectory of this still-evolving area of law. 

Yael Melamede is an award-winning filmmaker and former architect who is interested in the intersection of storytelling, people, and design. She is the co-founder of SALTY Features, a New York-based production company whose films have received both Emmy and Academy Awards. Her recent credits include Ada: My Mother the Architect; Death & Taxes; Emmy-nominated Floyd Abrams: Speaking Freely, Pay or Die, Emmy-winner When I Walk, and the Oscar-winning Inocente.