FREE LOVER: Victoria Woodhull
Before women had the right to vote, Victoria Woodhull dared to run for President.
FREE LOVER is a historical drama written and directed by Victoria lynn Weston, inspired by the extraordinary life of Victoria Woodhull — the first woman nominated for President of the United States, a Wall Street stockbroker, newspaper publisher, free speech advocate, and one of the most provocative women of the 19th century.
Produced by Zoe Films, FREE LOVER dramatizes a pivotal moment in Woodhull’s public life as she challenges political hypocrisy, fights for equal rights, and risks everything to speak the truth.
A bold woman. A dangerous truth. A story history tried to silence.
About the Film
FREE LOVER follows Victoria Woodhull as she enters the political arena during one of the most restrictive eras in American history. Running on a platform of equal rights and personal liberty, Woodhull confronts a culture that demands silence from women while protecting powerful men.
Her advocacy for “free love” was not scandal for scandal’s sake. It was a radical argument for autonomy — the right of women and men to make their own choices about marriage, love, equality, and freedom without government or religious control.
Guided by courage, conviction, and a spiritual sense of destiny, Woodhull becomes a threat to the moral gatekeepers of her time — especially those whose private lives do not match their public sermons.
Story Summary
Victoria Woodhull is not asking permission.
In 1872, as the first woman nominated for President of the United States, Woodhull steps into history with intelligence, charisma, and fire. But her message threatens the political and religious establishment.
When she exposes the hypocrisy of Reverend Henry Ward Beecher — a public moralist accused of privately practicing what he condemns — Woodhull risks her reputation, her freedom, and her place in history.
FREE LOVER is a cinematic glimpse into a woman who refused to disappear.
Logline
In 1872, Victoria Woodhull — the first woman nominated for President of the United States — risks imprisonment to expose a powerful preacher’s hypocrisy and fight for women’s rights, free speech, and personal liberty.
Cast
Christina Leidel as Victoria Woodhull
Austin Freeman as Colonel James Blood
Beau Blanchard as Reverend Henry Ward Beecher
Travis West as Demosthenes
Jason Townsend as Benjamin Brown
Creative Team
Written and Directed by: Victoria lynn Weston
Produced by: Zoe Films
Inspired by: America’s Victoria, Remembering Victoria Woodhull, the PBS-featured documentary produced by Victoria lynn Weston
Critical Response
Video Librarian called FREE LOVER a vivid and engaging introduction to the undervalued story of Victoria Woodhull and recommended the film for viewers interested in pioneering women, short-form historical entertainment, and the early women’s rights movement.
The review highlighted the film’s usefulness for high school and college classrooms, especially for discussions around women’s rights, social reform, free love, political ethics, and Victoria Woodhull’s groundbreaking achievements as a presidential candidate, stockbroker, publisher, and public speaker.
Festival Premiere
FREE LOVER premiered as an Official Selection at the Worldwide Women’s Film Festival in Scottsdale, Arizona, marking its debut before audiences committed to films produced by and about women. FREE LOVER garnered numerous festival awards including Best Film Short, Best Director, Best Costume from Cobb International Film Festival, Liberty Film Festival, The Wellington Film Festival and others.
The premiere introduced the film as a dramatic snapshot of Victoria Woodhull — the first woman to run for U.S. President in 1872, as well as a newspaper publisher, stockbroker, and free love advocate.
Why Victoria Woodhull Matters Now
Victoria Woodhull was more than a political first. She was a cultural earthquake.
She challenged the control of women’s bodies, reputations, marriages, finances, and voices. She argued for equality before the country was ready to hear it. She exposed the double standard that allowed powerful men to preach morality while privately betraying it.
Her story speaks directly to today’s conversations about free speech, women’s autonomy, censorship, political power, and the cost of telling the truth.
That is why FREE LOVER is not simply a period film. It is a warning, a celebration, and a spark.
Educational Use
FREE LOVER is ideal for classroom and library discussions about:
- Victoria Woodhull and the early women’s rights movement
- The first female presidential candidate in U.S. history
- Free speech and censorship
- 19th-century reform movements
- Marriage, morality, and the free love movement
- Media, scandal, and political hypocrisy
- Women’s autonomy and public reputation
The film offers students and viewers a vivid dramatic entry point into Woodhull’s life and the social forces that tried to contain her.
From FREE LOVER to THE NAKED TRUTH
FREE LOVER helped open the door to Victoria Lynn Weston’s larger cinematic vision around Victoria Woodhull.
Weston’s upcoming feature project, THE NAKED TRUTH, expands this story into a provocative courtroom drama about censorship, power, scandal, and the trial history denied Victoria Woodhull.
FREE LOVER is where the fire begins.
Streaming Note
FREE LOVER has appeared on Prime Video as a historical drama starring Christina Leidel and Austin Freeman, directed by Victoria lynn Weston. Availability may change by platform and territory.
About Victoria lynn Weston
Victoria lynn Weston is an award-winning filmmaker, writer, producer, and director whose work often explores destiny, emotional reckoning, women’s stories, and the unseen forces that shape human experience. Her previous work includes the PBS-featured documentary America’s Victoria, Remembering Victoria Woodhull, the award-winning short Free Lover, and the short films Through the Glass, The Note and recently produced, THE WOODHULL.
With The Note, Weston continues her focus on intimate, emotionally charged storytelling and female-centered drama.