A DOCUMENTARY IN PRODUCTION | TARGETING 2027 RELEASE
The Story of
City Lights Booksellers & Publishers
A landmark bookstore. A landmark trial. A story about free speech that couldn’t be more urgent — and it’s never been told on film.
2028 marks City Lights' 75th Anniversary. We're finishing this film in time to celebrate it. Help us get there.
“If our amendments had addresses, the address of the First Amendment would be right here at City Lights in the city of San Francisco. ”
WHY THIS FILM, WHY NOW
A lighthouse on Columbus Avenue
In 1953, Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Peter Martin opened a one-room bookstore in North Beach. They called it City Lights, after the Chaplin film. Four years later, Ferlinghetti was arrested for publishing Allen Ginsberg’s Howl — and won a landmark obscenity trial that changed the First Amendment.
For 70 years, City Lights has been at the center of American cultural life. Book challenges hit their highest levels in 2022–23 since tracking began. The Howl trial is not ancient history. It is the news.
That story has never been told on film. Until now.
WHERE WE ARE
In production, on track
Grant Awarded by
Nat'l Endowment for the Humanities
Grant Awarded by
California Humanities
Funding Completed
50%
Production Status
Rough Cut Complete
TRAILER