Take Action Spotlight: Hollywood Does Abortion

Take Action Spotlight

Directors Janet Goldwater and Mike Attie, Executive Producer and actor Rachel Bloom expected to attend in San Francisco

Hollywood Does Abortion is a meticulously researched documentary about images of abortion in American film and TV. The film launches with Norman Lear’s groundbreaking series Maude, featuring Bea Arthur (née Bernice Frankel) as Maude, who finds herself with an unwanted pregnancy. In 1972, 65 million Americans tuned in as Maude opted for an abortion. The film’s montage of clips from the early 1970s to the present is woven seamlessly with interviews of writers and directors, from Eleanor Bergstein (Dirty Dancing) to Zoanne Clack (Grey’s Anatomy). Starting with the first media images of abortion, which were mostly of white women, the film’s lens widens to scrutinize the lack of representation of women of color, which only changed when their participation as writers and showrunners grew in the industry. The film’s directors deftly intertwine news clips of clinic bombings and protests, creating a complex visual history of abortion that runs parallel to the fictional TV images. This essential documentary shows how abortion narratives on screen and public policy continue to influence each other in the post-Roe world. —Nancy Fishman

West Coast Premiere

The Castro Theatre program includes the Freedom of Expression Award presentation to Rachel Bloom

Janet Goldwater and Barbara Attie are Emmy-nominated producers and directors who have collaborated on award-winning documentaries for national and international broadcast for over three decades. Their short documentary Abortion Helpline, This Is Lisa (2020) premiered at Sundance, won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Short Documentary at AFI Docs, and was shortlisted for the Academy Award in 2021. Their feature documentaries include BaddDDD Sonia Sanchez (Emmy-nominated, 2015), Mrs. Goundo’s Daughter, and Maggie Growls, all ITVS co-productions that have screened internationally and aired on public television.

Mike Attie is an award-winning filmmaker whose work has screened at Sundance, Tribeca, and CPH. His short film The Field Trip (co-directed with O’Hara and Ojeda Beck) premiered at Sundance and was featured in The New York Times Op-Docs series. He co-produced and co-directed Abortion Helpline, This Is Lisa with Barbara Attie and Janet Goldwater. His feature documentary In Country premiered at Full Frame Documentary Film Festival and had its international premiere at Hot Docs. Attie is currently directing and producing The Haunting of Pennhurst.