Yahoo News CNN Announces Nov. 20 Premiere Date For Life-Affirming Gabby Giffords Doc, Featuring Footage Recorded By Her Husband, Sen. Mark Kelly
It’s been a headline-making weekend at the Kelly-Giffords household in Tucson, Arizona.
The couple celebrated the news Friday that Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly had been re-elected to his first full term representing Arizona, winning a tight contest with Republican Blake Masters. That bulletin was followed by the announcement today that CNN will premiere Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down, the acclaimed documentary about the former Congresswoman, next Sunday, November 20.
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The film from Oscar nominees Julie Cohen and Betsy West (RBG, Julia, My Name Is Pauli Murray), documents Giffords’ arduous rehabilitation from a near-fatal shooting in January 2011, a tragic event that stopped her ascent as a rising star in the Democratic Party.
“Directors Julie Cohen and Betsy West reveal incredible new, personal perspectives on the assassination attempt and recovery of former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, following a devastating mass shooting event that wounded 13, and killed six people in Tucson,” CNN said in a statement. “Central to the film is the exceptional access to the former Congresswoman; her husband, U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly; their family members; eyewitnesses to the shooting; and, Giffords’ medical team, secured by producer Lisa Erspamer.”
The injury from the gunman’s bullet severely damaged the left hemisphere of Giffords’ brain, leaving her with aphasia, a condition affecting speech and language.
“I was relearning how to talk,” Giffords said in a story published by Brain & Life magazine. “Even after hours of hard work, sometimes the only word that would pop out of my mouth was ‘chicken’… It was hard to articulate my thoughts, but I could sing my favorite songs. Even when I struggled with basic words, I could sing bits of ‘American Pie,’ a tune that will always have a special place in my heart… I never would have guessed how important singing would be in my recovery—and that’s powerful when you’ve lost much of your language.”
The film shows how Giffords has returned to activism, efforts that include championing gun reform and mental health legislation that passed Congress and was signed into law by President Biden in June. She has also co-founded the nonprofit group Friends of Aphasia.
“We’ve had the huge honor of telling the stories of some extraordinary American women, but Gabby Giffords’ story astounded us more than any other,” West and Cohen said in a statement. “We can’t wait for viewers to get to know this fierce, joyful, inspiring force of nature.”
Sen. Kelly plays a key part in the documentary and the film includes footage he recorded of the early days of his wife’s rehabilitation.
“In the days following the shooting, Kelly, reflecting in an interview for Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down, says he knew his wife would have questions about what happened to so dramatically change their lives,” CNN noted. “He decided to film their journey during her recovery, documenting her surgeries, her first words, a visit by the President of the United States, and her grueling physical therapy and speech therapy, in home videos.”
The news network added, “Cohen and West skillfully blend Kelly’s footage, and their own, showing Giffords’ progress during her recovery. The documentary captures moments of agonizing frustrations, and moments of joy, as Giffords and Kelly reclaim their lives. And, West and Cohen follow Giffords as she begins her work with GIFFORDS, an organization she founded to improve gun safety.”
The documentary features new interviews with former Pres. Obama, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), U.S. Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C), and Giffords’ speech therapist, Dr. Fabi Hirsch.
Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down is nominated for Best Documentary Feature and Best Political Documentary at the upcoming Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards and boasts a rare a 100 percent critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
“Former Rep. Giffords and her husband, Sen. Mark Kelly, have fought their way back from tragedy to support each other through her recovery and their shared new mission,” said Amy Entelis, executive vice president for talent and content development for CNN Worldwide, on behalf of CNN Films. “Julie and Betsy have revealed another amazing, woman-centric story that reminds us all of the power of love.”
Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down is executive produced by Entelis and Courtney Sexton for CNN Films, Alexandra Johnes and Ian Orefice of TIME Studios, and Oren Jacoby of Storyville Films. Lisa Erspamer of Lisa Erspamer Entertainment produces along with and Sam Jinishian of Storyville Films. CNN Films previously collaborated with West and Cohen for the Academy Award-nominated, Emmy-winning RBG, and the award-winning documentary, Julia, about chef Julia Child.
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