To some, Gloria Allred is a money-grubbing, shrill feminist prone to tawdry theatrics; to others she's the most effective and fearless women's rights attorney in America. In Roberta Grossman and Sophie Sartain's (Hava Nagila: The Movie, SFJFF 2012) intimate, warts-and-all documentary, one thing is certain: Allred's 40-year devotion to asserting, protecting, and expanding the rights of women is unwavering and her influence unassailable.
Whether fighting gender discrimination in toy stores, spousal abuse in the O.J. trial, or sexual harassment by Donald Trump, every case is personal and an opportunity to amplify the cause. Her special brand of advocacy often calls for creative solutions. When the statute of limitations prevented her clients from pressing charges against Bill Cosby, she led them in a battle to eliminate the statute for the benefit of future victims. At 75, like an unstoppable superhero with a rolling suitcase and no time to lose, she crisscrosses the country arguing cases, marching for justice, and delivering impromptu speeches on the Lincoln Memorial steps. And as the #MeToo movement gathers steam and powerful men fall, Allred knowingly, stoically declares, "The fight has only just begun." - Sundance Film Festival
Sophie Sartain's Mimi and Dona was broadcast on Independent Lens and named one of the best TV shows of 2015 by the New York Times. Roberta Grossman's film Above and Beyond(2014) won the audience award at more than 20 festivals. Together Grossman and Sartain created Hava Nagila (The Movie) (2012) and the Academy Award shortlisted Blessed Is the Match (2008). Grossman directed Homeland: Four Portraits of Native Action (2005) and the forthcoming Who Will Write Our History. Her producing credits include Dorothea Lange: Grab a Hunk of Lightning (2014) and 500 Nations, an eight-hour series on Native American history. Sartain's credits as a writer and story consultant include Hotel Everest (2017) and Rock in the Red Zone (2016).