OFFICIAL SELECTION
2007 LOS ANGELES
FILM FESTIVAL

WINNER! BEST FEATURE 2007 NY LATINO FILM FESTIVAL

CRITIC'S PICK
"There's not a single wrong note in 'Liberty Kid,' ...
Tender, wise and deceptively low-key... Quietly accumulates emotional power...
Not until the graceful, perfectly judged conclusion do we realize how much we care."
-- NEW YORK TIMES

CRITIC'S PICK
"Chaiken's subtle narrative touch, along with the exceptionally strong performances of leads Al Thompson and Kareem Savinon, gives this one a rare emotional pull."
-- NEW YORK MAGAZINE

"writer-director Ilya Chaiken doesn't just make movies; she lives through them from the inside out...
recalls early Martin Scorsese and Nick Gomez... Its observational detail is comprehensive,
its sense of place and grimy New York street flavor thoroughly convincing.
This is a smart little movie with intelligence and heart to spare."
-- Bob Strauss, L.A. DAILY NEWS

"the least explicit yet most affecting film yet to depict New York
in the weeks and months after the towers fell."
-- NEW YORK SUN

“Poigniant. There is no shortage of films abo ut the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks,
but there is a lack of good ones. The low-budget indie "Liberty Kid," is one of those that succeeds."”
NEW YORK POST

"Epic and resonant… to her eternal credit, Chaiken keeps her movie grounded in her characters, allowing Thompson and Savinon's true-to-life performances to carry us through…"
-- Bilge Ebiri, NERVE

"an uncommonly acute, deftly played drama of the New York working class"
-- Nathan Lee, VILLAGE VOICE

"sensitively drawn... Strong performances"
Scott Foundas, L.A. WEEKLY

"There may have been two or three dozen American films that struggled to make sense
of 9/11 and its aftermath, but none of them have done more with less than 'Liberty Kid'..
engagingly told, wonderfully acted and shot with an eye for the beauty
of the Big Apple's unglamorous outer-borough neighborhoods."
-- Andrew O’Hehir, SALON.COM

"Breezily indirect ... Glaringly Real... Kinetic ...”
Ronnie Scheib, VARIETY

"a powerful drama... Chaiken works with a delicate touch... potent, thoroughly believable... deeply poignant"
Stephen Farber, HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

"I just wanted to say that AL Thompson was amazing in Liberty Kid.
I am a soldier in the US Army and I have seen the affects of PTSD.
There are to many young men and women out there who have went thru unspeakable
things in Iraq and Afghanistan, but not enough publicity to help support them."
-- Carla via MySpace