In 2011, Gabby Giffords, an Arizona Congresswoman at the time, was the target of an assassination attempt, a horrifying shooting that killed six people. Giffords survived but suffered a severe brain injury that left permanent damage. Betsy West and Julie Cohen’s fierce documentary is a portrait of this brave and resilient American.
From the directors of the Oscar®-nominated hit documentary RBG comes an intimate and exhilarating portrait of Giffords. Using never-before-seen home video from her hospital stay and verité footage of her painstaking recovery, Cohen and West show how Giffords — with husband, astronaut-turned-U.S. Senator, Mark Kelly at her side — has summoned the strength to become one of the country’s most passionate advocates for gun control. “Within minutes of meeting Gabby Giffords, we knew we had to make a film about this phenomenal woman,” said Cohen and West, and what unfolds is a testament to the courage and spirit of this extraordinary American.
Directors Biography
Julie Cohen is an acclaimed director of documentary features. Her work includes Pedro Ruiz: Coming Home (2011); Ndiphilela Ukucula: I Live to Sing (2013); The Sturgeon Queens (2014), American Veteran (2017); and, with Betsy West, RBG (2018), nominated for an Oscar; My Name Is Pauli Murray (2021); and Julia (2021).
Betsy West is an acclaimed producer and director, and is the Fred W. Friendly Professor of Professional Practice in Media Society Emeritus at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. With Julie Cohen, she has directed RBG (2018), which was nominated for an Oscar and appeared at the 2018 MSPIFF, My Name Is Pauli Murray (2021) and Julia (2021).