Based on the true story of Abraham Lincoln and his close friend, Ward Hill Lamon , Saving Lincoln combines elements of theater and cinema to create a new visual world within vintage Civil War photographs. When the first assassination attempt occurs on the way to Washington in 1861, banjo-playing, pistol-wielding Lamon appoints himself Lincoln’s bodyguard. From this unique perspective, Lamon witnesses every aspect of Lincoln’s fiery trial as Commander-in-Chief, soothes his friend’s tormented soul, and saves him from repeated attempts on his life. Lincoln sends Lamon away on a mission shortly before the fateful night at Ford’s Theatre, yet it is Lamon who redefines that tragic event in a surprising and uplifting manner. Saving Lincoln has been called “a new and different kind of cinematic experience…truly fascinating” (Film Journal International), as well as “brave, incisive, brilliant and entirely factual”
