gun control – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

PRIME MINISTER – Review by Loren King

June 4, 2025June 7, 2025 Loren King Clarke Gayford, covid, gun control, Jacinda Ardern, Lindsay Utz, Michelle Walshe, new zealand, Prime Minister

Prime Minister is eye opening, engaging and also depressing. To hear former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern routinely use words like kindness, compassion and empathy when advocating for policy or talking about leadership left me disheartened that in the currently deeply divided, disinformation-inundated United States, such a leader could never be elected. Prime Minister is more than a powerful portrait of a singular leader. It’s also a devastating look at politics in the world today.

Reviews

PRIME MINISTER – Review by Leslie Combemale

June 4, 2025June 6, 2025 Leslie Combemale Clarke Gayford, covid, gun control, Jacinda Ardern, Lindsay Utz, Michelle Walshe, new zealand, Prime Minister, roe v wade

Is watching a leader that is the diametrically opposite of Donald Trump going to bring you despair, or optimism, or both? That’s the question that will likely pop up for viewers of the documentary Prime Minister, from co-directors Lindsay Utz and Michelle Walshe. The film chronicles former New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern’s professional and personal experiences in her five years as head of government, years that included the birth of her first child, a mass shooting, and a worldwide pandemic, and proved enormously challenging.

Movie of the Week

MOVIE OF THE WEEK July 15, 2022: GABBY GIFFORDS WON’T BACK DOWN

July 9, 2022August 4, 2022 Jennifer Merin betsy bozdech, betsy west, Cate Marquis, documentary, Gabby Giffords: Won’t Back Down, gun control, jennifer merin, Julie Cohen, liz whittemore, loren king, Mark Kelly, motw, Movie of the Week, nell minow, Pam Grady, sherin nicole, susan wloszczyna

In a time when “thoughts and prayers” are all that too many politicians can offer in the face of tragic mass shootings like the ones in Buffalo and Uvalde, Gabby Giffords’ tireless advocacy for smart gun control is more meaningful than ever — especially when you know that every word she says on the subject is a hard-fought victory over the lasting impact of the brain injuries she sustained when she was shot in the head in 2011.

Festivals Reviews

GABBY GIFFORDS: WON’T BACK DOWN (SXSW 2022) – Review by Leslie Combemale

March 15, 2022March 18, 2022 Leslie Combemale barak obama, betsy west, documentaries, Gabby Giffords: Won’t Back Down, gun control, Julie Cohen, Kirsten Gillibrand, Mark Kelly, sxsw 2022

Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down is a great addition to filmmakers Betsy West and Julie Cohen’s catalog of films on powerful, tenacious public figures, which includes RGB, My Name is Pauli Murray, and, most recently, Julia. They are clearly on a mission to amplify women of strength and authentic power, and the films’ audiences are the lucky beneficiaries.

Commentaries General Archives Reviews Women on Film

UNDER THE GUN, MONEY MONSTER, LOVE & FRIENDSHIP, THE STUDENT BODY and more May 13 Openers — Reviews by Jennifer Merin

May 15, 2016May 15, 2016 Jennifer Merin 0 Comments gun control, jane austen, jodie foster, love addict, love and friendship, Money monser, monster with a thoufsnad heads, most likely to die, sick people, sunset song, the lobster, THE STUDENT BODY, under the gun, we promised

Stephanie Soechtig’s exemplary must see documentary Under The Gun advocates for much needed gun control legislation in the US. Jodie