
LIBERTY: MOTHER OF EXILES, a Surprising and Revealing Look at the History and Contemporary Significance of the Statue of Liberty, Debuts October 7, Exclusively on HBO
Directed and Produced by Emmy -award winners Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato; Executive Produced by and Featuring Diane von Furstenberg, Godmother to the Statue
HBO PRFollow
Oct 1 4 min read
Over four million people visit the Statue of Liberty annually. The most photographed statue in the world, the statue's meaning is universal and represents freedom, hope and protest to people throughout the world. LIBERTY: MOTHER OF EXILES, debuting THURSDAY, OCT. 17 (9:0010:30 p.m. ET/PT), casts new light on one of America's most familiar symbols, revealing its little-known history, and celebrating it as an enduring beacon of hope for generations of immigrants.
Photo: Courtesy of HBO. Please note this is a promotional photo for press only.The documentary will also be available on HBO NOW, HBO GO, HBO On Demand and partners' streaming platforms.
Directed and produced by Emmy winners Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato (HBO's Emmy -nominated Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures and Carrie Fisher: Wishful Drinking ), the documentary begins with the groundbreaking ceremony for a new museum at the base of the Statue of Liberty, and follows legendary designer Diane von Furstenberg, godmother to the statue, who led the museum's fundraising campaign, in her quest to discover how sculptor Fr d ric Auguste Bartholdi's dream became a reality and what the statue has meant to generations of people worldwide. The film reveals the statue's unexpected history - a story filled with many false starts as well as significant financial and technical challenges that were ultimately solved in innovative ways.
Making this documentary on the history of the Statue of Liberty, and discovering the layers of passion that made it happen, has been an emotional journey, says Diane von Furstenberg. She truly is the symbol of freedom and her torch is a magic wand!
Lady Liberty, chains broken and striding forward, has become the symbol of the struggle for freedom all around the world, say directors and producers Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato. As the Mother of Exiles', she welcomes millions of immigrants seeking a better life in America. This film could not be a timelier reminder of the values that the statue has always stood for.
Like most Americans, Lady Liberty has its own immigrant story and, over the course of the film, von Furstenberg, who came to the U.S. from Belgium, reveals how intimately connected her background is with the statue. Her admiration for Lady Liberty began with her mother, who gave birth to Diane after surviving the Auschwitz labor camps and often called her daughter her torch of freedom. The fashion icon has long admired the 305-foot, toga-wearing statue's strength and femininity and recalls first seeing Lady Liberty when she arrived in New York by boat in the 1970s.
The film follows von Furstenberg on her journey towards discovery, reading French sculptor Fr d ric Auguste Bartholdi's diaries, and traveling to France to meet with descendants of douard de Laboulaye, who inspired Bartholdi to build the statue, and Gustave Eiffel, who designed its metal framework.
The ways in which the statue's existence affects Americans is palpable through encounters with dozens of people, like those von Furstenberg spoke to, who share a connection to the colossal figure. From street artists to factory workers, the film's robust cast of characters include a French metal artisan who came to America to work on the restoration of the statue in the 1980s and never left, workers in China who make the souvenir statues found in gift shops all over the world, a Russian graffiti artist whose street art prominently features the statue, and families who lived on the island for years until their homes were destroyed by Hurricane Sandy - all underscoring von Furstenberg's notion that Lady Liberty belongs to everyone, as well as Bartholdi's own idea that the statue should represent the unity of mankind.
Additionally, we meet others who help shed light on Lady Liberty's past, present and future, including: Bartholdi biographer Robert Belot; Statue of Liberty Museum architect Nicholas Garrison, Statue of Liberty Director of Education Peter Wong; activist Patricia Okoumou, who scaled the statue in 2018 to protest the Trump administration's immigration policies, students from ELLIS Prep Academy in the Bronx, which serves recent immigrants to the city from around the world; and many others.
Although it's hard to imagine the United States without the Statue of Liberty, which celebrates its 133rd birthday later this month, its existence was far from assured. Were it not for the determination and ingenuity of a few key individuals, and the thousands of ordinary people who helped fund it, the statue might never have come to be. Its role as a galvanizing symbol of freedom and a beacon to the world's huddled masses, yearning to breathe free has far surpassed its original intentions - but is never one to be taken for granted. As von Furstenberg says, The Statue of Liberty has always been a story of the people.
Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato are the founders of World of Wonder Productions. In addition to the Emmy -nominated Carrie Fisher: Wishful Drinking, their HBO and CINEMAX credits include the Emmy -nominated Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures, as well as The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Monica in Black and White and Party Monster.
LIBERTY: MOTHER OF EXILES is produced and directed by Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato; executive producers, Diane Von Furstenberg, Sheila Nevins and Jason Blum. For HBO: executive producers, Nancy Abraham and Lisa Heller.
Follow @HBOPR on Twitter
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
23/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
23/06/2026
LTN, a global leader in IP-based video transport and network services, today announced that PBS has selected LTN as its IP video partner to modernize and future...
23/06/2026
LiveU will introduce its Q Era to Australia and New Zealand for the first time at ABE2026 on Stand No. 25, (July 30 31). Leading the showcase is the LU900Q, a n...
23/06/2026
Miri Technologies Inc. has begun shipping its highly anticipated V410 live 4K video encoder/decoder for streaming, IP-based production workflows and AV-over-IP ...
23/06/2026
DHD audio reports the completion of an upgrade to the audio production facilities at the Galilee headquarters of Radio Tzafon. The station broadcasts two progra...
23/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
23/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
23/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
23/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
23/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
23/06/2026
Multifaceted Growth Executive Brings 20+ Years of Experience Leading Organizations Across Tech and M&E
Imagine Communications today announced the appointment ...
23/06/2026
Australians in Film and Screen Australia's talent development initiative UNT...
23/06/2026
Visual Productions Unveils RdmRelay2 Four-channel Relay Control at InfoComm 2026
Brie Clayton June 22, 2026
0 Comments
New Relay Solution Combines DMX, ...
23/06/2026
SMPTE Makes Its Standards Freely Accessible, Opening Standards Library to the Gl...
23/06/2026
The RT Toy Show Appeal has raised over 31 million since its inception in 2020 ...
23/06/2026
News Highlights:
NVIDIA technology runs 81% of the TOP500 and 90% of the systems new to the list.
26 systems on the TOP500 adopted the NVIDIA Grace CPU, up ei...
23/06/2026
Companies are asking how to build specialized AI that fits with the way their workflows actually run.
The first wave of enterprise AI was about access. Compan...
23/06/2026
Newly identified molecule strengthens the eye's response to damage in retinal disease Scripps Research discovery finds that restoring the naturally occurrin...
22/06/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
22/06/2026
Cosm has announced the appointment of David Ho as Chief Legal Officer, a newly created executive role reporting to President and CEO Jeb Terry. Ho will oversee ...
22/06/2026
Warner Bros. Discovery and Amazon Web Services (AWS) have announced the developm...
22/06/2026
Daktronics has completed an audio control system upgrade at Petco Park in San Di...
22/06/2026
Accelerate Media has named John Willi as President and announced the launch of the Accelerate Sports Network (ASN), a prep sports media and streaming platform c...
22/06/2026
All Women's Sports Network (AWSN) and 3XBA (3 3 Basketball Association) have announced live television coverage of the annual 3XBA tournament on Friday, Jun...
22/06/2026
OWL AI has announced the appointment of Jay Prasad as Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors. Prasad succeeds Josh Gwyther, who has served...
22/06/2026
CP Communications delivered RF video and audio support for TNT's Inside the NBA at the 2026 NBA Finals, providing main show coverage in San Antonio and ea...
22/06/2026
Polymarket has announced a partnership with GRID, an official esports data platf...
22/06/2026
As sports venues continue to evolve into more video-centric, fan-engagement-driv...
22/06/2026
As the regional sports production scene shifts toward streaming, this Texan helps lead the engineering behind Victory+'s growing live platform...
22/06/2026
By Kristin Feeley, Director, Documentary Film & Artist Programs
the memories of your elders [are] a scaffolding for you to build your identity on - and t...
22/06/2026
New hyper-resolution analyser EQ revealed
CEDAR Audio's all-new Icons plug-in series has just gained its newest member, Blade. Described by the compan...
22/06/2026
Turn any live input into a cinematic soundscape
Designed for use in the studio and on stage, Sampleson's latest creation is capable of taking any audio ...
22/06/2026
Adds guitar strings to Eurorack rigs
ADDAC System are renowned for their weird and wonderful synth designs, and their line-up includes plenty of gear that...
22/06/2026
FIFA World Cup 2026 fever grows, as more than one third of Australians tune in ...
22/06/2026
In our latest blog, Tim Pearson explores NAGRA Venturi, the new streaming security solution for the AI era from NAGRAVISION. Designed to aggregate and analyze ...
22/06/2026
Expanded integrations give advertisers access to distinct contextual signals acr...
22/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/06/2026
Xilica today announced the release of Dynamic Voice Lift, a new feature in Xilica Designer v4.12 that brings adaptive speech reinforcement to large meeting spac...
22/06/2026
Telecom operators have seen remarkable returns from using generative AI to automate network management, customer care and back-office operations. Most of that i...
22/06/2026
Monday 22 June 2026
Official trailer released for Katie Price: Nothing to Hide,...
22/06/2026
The next era of AI will not be defined by compute alone. Its growth will be dete...
22/06/2026
Mission, Vision and Veritas - new Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) supercom...
22/06/2026
At the ISC conference running in Hamburg this week, NVIDIA is introducing new so...
22/06/2026
For the past two years, the U.S. National Science Foundation's National Arti...
22/06/2026
JUPITER, Europe's first exascale supercomputer at Germany's Forschungszentrum J lich, runs on NVIDIA Grace Hopper Superchips and NVIDIA Quantum-X800 Inf...