Character Relationship Map: Free Hands

Characters

• Barbara (played by Ronit Elkabetz) — protagonist

  Barbara is a filmmaker who has worked in prisons for several years. She prepares a film written and directed by long-term inmates at a prison in the Paris projects, and visits twice a week to film int...

• Michel (played by Carlo Brandt) — supporting
• Rita (played by Noémie Lvovsky) — supporting
• Chloé (played by Camille Figuereo) — supporting

Story Analysis

A documentary-style narrative tracking a filmmaker's collaborative process with incarcerated inmates to create a feature film.

Plot Progression

1. The Filmmaker's Mission — Barbara introduces her established background working within prison environments over several years. She outlines the ambitious goal of preparing a feature film entirely written and directed by long-t...
2. Inside the Paris Projects — The narrative establishes the specific facility located in the Paris projects. Barbara initiates her structured approach to documenting the incarcerated population through scheduled visits.
3. Bi-Weekly Prison Visits — Barbara maintains a strict twice-weekly routine entering the prison. She conducts focused interviews with the incarcerated men, capturing their personal accounts and perspectives.
4. From Interviews to Screenplay — The collected interview footage is directly repurposed as the primary foundation for drafting the screenplay. The inmates transition into writing and directing roles, completing the collaborative cycl...