Still from No One Asked You. Courtesy of DOC NYC
Documentary is happy to debut an exclusive clip from Ruth Leitman’s No One Asked You, which follows The Daily Show co-creator Lizz Winstead on her 2017 “Vagical Mystery Tour, which spanned 16 Southern and Midwestern abortion battleground states, many of which are featured in this clip,” according to Leitman. This timely doc is continuing its festival tour after a world premiere at DOC NYC last fall, with special impact screenings planned in U.S. states where there are abortion constitutional amendments on the ballot, including Florida, Missouri, Colorado, Arizona, and Nebraska. Next, it plays Athena Film Festival tomorrow.
On the clip, Leitman writes, “With so much at stake, including the safety of abortion care workers and providers, we witness the catharsis that gathering community with comedy can bring to abortion care spaces. At each clinic in the film, we learn what’s at stake for abortion provision in that state: the copycat anti-choice laws that are being ‘proposed,’ or desperate needs from the clinic, like steps repaired or a prickly bush planted to create a barrier from the angry protesters berating patients. Learning that the clinic staff in Cleveland need love and encouragement, Lizz installs a hot tub in their parking lot for the day. This is a window into the nurturing that the Abortion Access Front does for clinics, which leads us to Derenda and Kim at the Pink House—the clinic at the center of the downfall of Roe—whose arc we follow throughout the film.
Lizz and AAF were sounding the alarm, knowing that abortion access was primed for its demise after 50 years of constitutional protection. Language matters, especially in our field of social justice storytelling. Documentary stakeholders must use the word: Abortion. Full stop. It is essential to say the word abortion and acknowledge it as healthcare, not just to protect abortion rights but to reclaim our democracy and all issues of personal autonomy. We’re working tirelessly to raise impact and engagement funds to use the film as the critical activation tool for the 2024 election, using comedy and levity to energize audiences to get involved in the fight.”
The Athena screening will be followed by a Q&A with Leitman and comics Joyelle Nicolle Johnson and Jaye Mcbride.