Alexander Freeman (film director)

Alexander Freeman (born 1987) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter with cerebral palsy.

Early life and education
Freeman was born in 1987 in Newton, Massachusetts. He was interested in filmmaking from an early age and began to use his parents' video camera to create stories with his brother and a friend, including a makeshift version of Titanic. His interest in the craft further developed during his time at Brookline High School, where he participated in the theater program and took a life-changing video production class during his junior year.

After completing high school, he worked for City Year in Boston, producing a recruitment film, before beginning his college education at Fitchburg State University in 2007. A year later, he transferred to UMass Amherst due to dissatisfaction with his living situation and the absence of a film production major. Eventually, he found his niche at Emerson College, where he excelled in the film program and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in film.

Career
Freeman's early works include a narrative adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven, which screened at the Coolidge Corner Theatre in 2008, and the documentary I Care: A Documentary About Independent Living, which gained international recognition and led to his selection for the Very Special Arts/AFI-Discovery Channel Silverdocs Apprenticeship program. His film Meet Annabelle was also featured at several film festivals in 2011 and 2012, such as the Picture This Film Festival and the Arlington International Film Festival.

In 2012, Freeman co-produced and directed the documentary The Last Taboo, which explored the sexual lives of people with physical disabilities. Two years later, The HSC Foundation honored Freeman with the National Advocates in Disability Award for his advocacy work.

In 2017, Freeman's documentary The Wounds We Cannot See chronicled Nancy Ross's struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and addiction. He received the Best Director (Documentary Feature) award at the 2016 Independent Film Festival Awards in Los Angeles for the film. The film also won Best Documentary Feature at the Long Beach Indie International Film, Media, and Music Festival.

Freeman is also the founder of Outcast Productions.

Filmography

 * The Last Taboo (2013)
 * The Wounds We Cannot See (2017)
 * My Own Normal (2024)