“With Liberty and Justice For All,” by Sophia Holt, a fourth-year majoring in film studies and production, is being screened on Feb. 13 at Reiman Theater in Margery Reed Hall at 5:00 p.m. The screening is being hosted by the Cultural Center, Black Community Initiatives and Black Student Alliance. Immediately after the screening, there will be dinner at Saucy’s BBQ.
“With Liberty and Justice For All,” which premiered on June 13, 2024, is a coming-of-age meets blaxploitation tale that follows Q, a Black adoptee, her roommates Jam and Marcus, victims of their school’s discrimination who work together to form a Black Student Union on campus in 1975.
Holt has always loved theatrical and cinematic production. She came from a theatre background and was active on the technical and acting sides. She first fell in love with movies after being introduced to “Star Wars” by her grandfather.
“As a kid, I wanted to rewrite it so that Anakin and Padme could live happily ever after with their twins, Luke and Leia,” Holt stated.
In addition, Holt’s grandma would take her to watch all of the best picture Oscar-nominated movies, and after watching each one, they’d determine which one was deserving. On award night, Holt and her mom would dress up, take pictures as the red carpet pre-show would air on TV and drink mocktails.
“One day, we would always say, I will be invited to celebrate my work and I will bring her as my plus-one,” Holt said.
Her influences include actress Issa Rae, singer Solange Knowles, filmmaker Damien Chazelle, and directors Richard Linklater, Spike Lee and Jean-Luc Godard. When it comes to the art of filmmaking, Holt enjoys the idea of playing make-believe and describes it as exhilarating.
“I think it becomes even more fun as the content of the story pertains to important real-life themes. As a queer, biracial woman filmmaker, I have always brought representation to the forefront of my writing,” Holt explained.
Holt started writing “With Liberty and Justice For All,” her fifth student film, when she was the president of the Black Student Alliance during her junior year. The creation of the film is inspired by Holt’s upbringing in a “tiny little mountain town” in Southwest Colorado. Holt described the diversity there as “slim.”
“Coming to a college in a city really changed my life and the way I view my Black-ness,” Holt said, “I see parts of my story reflected in the character of Q, who is adopted by white parents.”
Holt states that the best part of working on “With Liberty and Justice For All” was working with her crew and cast. One moment that coincided with production was the night that the Denver hockey team won the NCAA Hockey Championship in 2024; filming was taking place in Sturm Hall when cheering could be heard outside and was picked up by sound recordist, Nathan Henry.
“One of the co-producers peeked outside and saw there were cops and campus security officers blocking the front doors. To make matters worse, our other co-producer, Madeline Miller, was on the roads picking up our cast and crew dinner for the night when she got stuck in traffic due to campus road closures,” Holt explained.
Miller was not able to deliver their dinner but, today, the entire cast and crew can look back at the chaos that night and laugh about it.
On Nov. 11, 2024, Holt became the recipient of the Revolution Me Films Best Director for Student Short award. “With Liberty and Justice For All” has also been selected by the Diaspora Festival of Black and Independent Film and Two Cent Lion Showcase. It has been awarded the Bob Yablans Award and the Awareness Festival’s Merit Award of Awareness.
Holt graduates next month. She plans to freelance as a production assistant and assistant director in Denver. She aspires to move to Los Angeles in 2026, but in the meantime, she’ll be working part-time with Entrepreneurship@DU and as a server to save up.
“I always want to tell stories that matter,” Holt stated.
If you’d like to follow Holt’s journey, visit her Instagram. Information about “With Liberty and Justice For All” can also be found on the film’s Instagram.
