Home / Arts and Entertainment / Billy Porter Backs Powerful Lynching Tree Guitar Doc
Billy Porter Backs Powerful Lynching Tree Guitar Doc
5 Dec
Summary
- Documentary features sculptor Freeman Vines carving guitars from a lynching tree.
- The film explores racism's legacy and Vines' philosophy, humor, and resilience.
- Billy Porter joins as executive producer for the Oscar-qualified short film.

The documentary short "Freeman Vines," now executive produced by Billy Porter, presents a powerful portrait of an 82-year-old artist.
Freeman Vines, a sculptor and guitar maker from rural North Carolina, carves his instruments from lumber taken from a tree historically used for a lynching. The film captures his artistic process, his philosophy on life, and his confrontation with the painful legacy of racism in the American South.
Acclaimed at numerous Academy-qualifying festivals and now available to stream, "Freeman Vines" explores themes of resilience, creativity, and human connection. Billy Porter expressed his honor in joining the project, highlighting Vines' profound lesson on living in truth and claiming personal freedom.




