Creating a Free State: Filmmaker Christina Heller on Building a Libertopia in New Hampshire

YouTube
Feb. 19, 2011

Tired of waiting for a libertarian United States of America? Maybe the answer is to start small.

Enter Libertopia, a documentary by director Christina Heller and producer Craig Goodale that follows three guys' attempt to make one state free. Heller sat down with Reason.tv's Ted Balaker to discuss the Free State Project, why she admires libertarians, and how a persuasive band of Free Staters just might have transformed her from a liberal into a libertarian.

The Free State Project was proposed by a Yale PhD student in 2001, and the goal was to convince 20,000 pro-liberty activists to commit to moving to New Hampshire in hopes of returning the state to its "Live Free or Die" roots. So far, the project reports that there are more than 10,000 participants, and almost 900 "early movers" have already settled in the Granite State.

The documentary follows one man who is walking across the country to raise awareness about the Free State Project, another who already moved to New Hampshire and works as an advocate for medical marijuana patients, and a Ron Paul-inspired teenager who decides to leave his friends and family in California to live in New Hampshire.

Interview by Ted Balaker. Shot by Zach Weissmueller, Hawk Jensen, and Alex Manning. Edited by Weissmueller.

Approximately 9 minutes.