In downtown Cincinnati, an unusually bitter winter storm leads a group of homeless patrons to take shelter inside their local public library. With the storm showing no signs of letting up at closing time and storm shelters at full capacity, the group decide to stage a sit-in and stay the night. What begins as a simple act of non-violent civil disobedience soon turns into a stand-off with the local police, led by a no-nonsense crisis negotiator (Alec Baldwin) and a savvy district attorney (Christian Slater), with the library’s staff (Emilio Estevez, Jena Malone) caught in the middle.

Also directed by Estevez, The Public is a David-versus-Goliath story that tackles challenging issues of homelessness, mental illness and freedom head on.