independent lens – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

MOVIE OF THE WEEK February 27, 2026: THE INQUISITOR

February 22, 2026March 13, 2026 Jennifer Merin alfre woodard, Angela Lynn Tucker, Angela Tucker, Barbara Jordan, betsy bozdech, Cate Marquis, dan rather, independent lens, jasmine crockett, jennifer merin, leslie combemale, liz whittemore, loren king, motw, Movie of the Week, nell minow, pbs, PBS’ Independent Lens, sandie angulo chen, The Inquisitor

Trailblazers don’t come much more blazing than Barbara Jordan, the groundbreaking Texas politician/lawyer/all-around bad-ass who’s the subject of director Angela Lynn Tucker’s illuminating documentary The Inquisitor. As the first Black woman to be elected to her home state’s Senate since the Civil War — not to mention the first southern Black woman ever elected to the U.S. House of Representatives — Jordan made an indelible mark on U.S. politics in her all-too-brief time in Washington, D.C.

Reviews

THE INQUISITOR – Review by Loren King

February 17, 2026February 22, 2026 Loren King alfre woodard, Angela Lynn Tucker, Angela Tucker, Barbara Jordan, dan rather, independent lens, pbs, The Inquisitor

Fimmaker Angela Tucker’s astute documentary portrays Barbara Jordan in all her complexity and as a woman of her time. She got things done by compromising with the white men who made up nearly all of Congress in the 1970s yet she fearlessly used her intellect and oratory skills at key moments when democracy itself was on the line. Such moments included the impeachment hearings of President Richard Nixon. This film is a much-needed portrait of political leadership, intellectual curiosity and backbone.