The Public, Emilio Estevez’s latest film as writer, actor and director premiered at the 2018 Toronto Film Festival in Canada. The film stars Christian Slater, Alec Baldwin, Jena Malone, Taylor Schilling, Gabrielle Union, Jeffrey Wright, Michael Kenneth Williams, Ki Hong Lee and Jacob Vargas.

The Public is set to be released in 2019. Dave Sztypuljak was on the carpet talking to the director and his actors, here’s how he got on.

The Public TIFF Press Conference

PLOT:

In “the public” an unusually bitter Arctic blast has made its way to downtown Cincinnati and the front doors of the public library where the action of the film takes place. The story revolves around the library patrons, many of whom are homeless, mentally ill and marginalized, as well as an exhausted and overwhelmed staff of librarians who often build emotional connections and a sense of obligation to care for those regular patrons. At odds with library officials over how to handle the extreme weather event, the Patrons turn the building into a homeless shelter for the night by staging an “Occupy” sit in. What begins as an act of civil disobedience becomes a stand off with police and a rush-to-judgment media constantly speculating about what’s really happening. This David versus Goliath story tackles some of our nation’s most challenging issues, homelessness and mental illness and sets the drama inside one of the last bastions of democracy-in-action: your public library.