Two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank stars in this gripping story of inner-city kids raised on drive-by shootings and hard-core-attitude and the teacher who gives them the one thing they need most; a voice of their own. Dropped into the free-fire zone of a school torn by violence and racial tension, teacher Erin Gruwell battles an uncaring system in a fight to make the classroom matter in students lives. Now, telling their own stories, and hearing the stories of others, a group of supposedly unteachable teens will discover the power of tolerance, reclaim their shattered lives and change their shattered lives and change their world. With electrifying performances from its all-star cast, including golden Globe Award winner Patrick Dempsey and recording star Mario, Freedom Writers is based on the acclaimed best-seller, The Freedom Writers Diary.