“The Public” was directed and written by Emilio Estevez, who also stars in the film alongside an ensemble cast including Alec Baldwin, Jena Malone, Christian Slater, Gabrielle Union, and Jeffrey Wright. The film had its world premiere on September 9, 2018, at the Toronto International Film Festival and was theatrically released in the United States in April. After learning that emergency shelters are at full capacity when a brutal Midwestern cold front makes its way to Cincinnati, a large group of homeless library patrons led by Jackson (Michael Kenneth Williams) refuse to leave the downtown public library at closing time. What begins as a nonviolent Occupy-style sit-in and ragtag act of civil disobedience quickly escalates into a standoff with local riot police, led by a no-nonsense crisis negotiator (Alec Baldwin) and a savvy district attorney (Christian Slater) with lofty political ambitions, all as two librarians (Emilio Estevez and Jena Malone) are caught in the middle.