FreedomFest 2026

Kingsley, Kevin, and Hailey are ambitious eighth graders relying on individual agency and hard work to forge their futures. They are preparing for the rigorous entrance exam to New York City’s Specialized High Schools, hoping to secure admission through objective, hard-won merit. However, as they await their results, their personal achievements are threatened by the heavy hand of state bureaucracy. A fierce political battle is raging as city officials attempt to mandate demographic outcomes from the top down, prioritizing engineered equity over individual excellence. “If You Can Make It Here” places these young minds at the center of a high-stakes conflict, highlighting the tension between a student’s right to be judged solely by their own abilities and a state apparatus determined to control who gets to succeed.