FREE TO LAUGH

FREE TO LAUGH

A film by Lara Everly

DIRECTED BY

Lara Everly

WRITTEN BY

Concept by Lara Everly

PRODUCED BY

Louie Schwartzberg, Edward Tighe, Elease Lui Stemp

CAST

JANELLE BATES, DEBBIE BLACKBURN, GEYNNA BUFFINGTON, BERNADETTE CAMPOS, ROSANNA EVANS, PATRICIA FLANIGAN, ANGELA FLORES

SYNOPSIS

Free to Laugh covers a three-day comedy workshop teaching improv and stand up to women recently released from prison. These ex-convicts channeled years of pain and incarceration into writing their own stand up material, healing through laughter and propelling themselves into the present through improvisation. Free to Laugh focuses on the deep connection between tragedy and comedy, and how humor not only heals, but is a part of redemption and reinvention. Their stories are as bone-chilling as they are heart-warming, and explore how even after spending twenty years behind bars, your story is still being created every day.

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BHFF 2026

QUICK LINKS

FREE TO LAUGH

DIRECTED BY: Lara Everly

WRITTEN BY: Concept by Lara Everly

PRODUCED BY: Louie Schwartzberg, Edward Tighe, Elease Lui Stemp

CAST: JANELLE BATES, DEBBIE BLACKBURN, GEYNNA BUFFINGTON, BERNADETTE CAMPOS, ROSANNA EVANS, PATRICIA FLANIGAN, ANGELA FLORES

SYNOPSIS:
Free to Laugh covers a three-day comedy workshop teaching improv and stand up to women recently released from prison. These ex-convicts channeled years of pain and incarceration into writing their own stand up material, healing through laughter and propelling themselves into the present through improvisation. Free to Laugh focuses on the deep connection between tragedy and comedy, and how humor not only heals, but is a part of redemption and reinvention. Their stories are as bone-chilling as they are heart-warming, and explore how even after spending twenty years behind bars, your story is still being created every day.