In the spring of 1972, seven members of the Jane Collective, an underground service in Chicago, were arrested for providing illegal abortions to women in need. The collective had been founded by Heather Booth in 1965, when a friend in need of the procedure was nearly suicidal. “Pregnant? Don’t want to be? Call Jane,” read ads placed in the underground press, offering a counseling service mostly for low-income women and women of color. The Janes would refer women to abortion providers, sometimes performing abortions themselves. After the organization was discovered by the Chicago police, the seven Jane members’ lawyer successfully delayed the case’s court proceedings until the January 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which struck down federal and state abortion bans in the United States.
The release of Tia Lessin and Emma Pildes’ Oscar-shortlisted documentary The Janes also aligned with a major abortion ruling: Just weeks after its June 8 premiere on HBO,...
The release of Tia Lessin and Emma Pildes’ Oscar-shortlisted documentary The Janes also aligned with a major abortion ruling: Just weeks after its June 8 premiere on HBO,...
- 1/10/2023
- by Tyler Coates
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“The Janes” co-director Emma Pildes, original “Jane” Judith Arcana and abortion clinic owner DeShawn Taylor M.D. discussed the status of abortion rights and how the story of a 1970s underground provider network made its way to the screen, as part of TheWrap’s Power Women Summit 2022 on Wednesday.
“I mean, the timing was pretty remarkable and unfortunate,” Pildes told moderator Jodie Sweetin of the film’s premiere, which coincided with the leak of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
“We just kind of felt like, as filmmakers, it was about doing what you can. That’s what activism is,” the co-director added.
Sweetin, an actress and activist herself, asked Arcana what she carries with her from her experiences as a Jane.
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Before responding, Arcana said that she used...
“I mean, the timing was pretty remarkable and unfortunate,” Pildes told moderator Jodie Sweetin of the film’s premiere, which coincided with the leak of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
“We just kind of felt like, as filmmakers, it was about doing what you can. That’s what activism is,” the co-director added.
Sweetin, an actress and activist herself, asked Arcana what she carries with her from her experiences as a Jane.
Also Read:
‘Luckiest Girl Alive’ Author Jessica Knoll Encourages Aspiring Adapters to ‘Be the Squeaky Wheel’ (Video)
Before responding, Arcana said that she used...
- 12/14/2022
- by Harper Lambert
- The Wrap
It is a grim coincidence that the same week that HBO premieres the The Janes — a documentary about the young women who established an underground network to provide women with affordable and safe abortion care in the years before Roe v. Wade — the current Supreme Court may actually overturn that very decision that rendered the Janes services largely unnecessary nearly 50 years ago.
The Janes, which debuts on Wed., June 8, has the colorful characters, quick pacing, and twists and turns of a heist film. The directors, Oscar-nominee Tia Lessin (Trouble the...
The Janes, which debuts on Wed., June 8, has the colorful characters, quick pacing, and twists and turns of a heist film. The directors, Oscar-nominee Tia Lessin (Trouble the...
- 6/7/2022
- by Lisa Tozzi
- Rollingstone.com
Following Doc10 Film Festival’s opening night screening of “The Janes” on May 19, several original members The Jane Collective — an underground abortion clinic led by women in the pre-Roe v. Wade era — urged audience members to take to the streets and get focused on protecting women’s reproductive rights, now believed to be at risk with a new Supreme Court ruling in the works.
“The fight is not over,” said Marie Leaner, a former Jane. “It’s only just begun.”
“The Janes” is one of 10 docus that will screen during the four-day Chicago-based festival. The Doc10 screening of “The Janes,” which will debut on HBO June 8, drew more than 250 people — the festival’s largest crowd in its seven-year history. Ten former Janes were in attendance alongside the doc’s directors, Tia Lessin and Emma Pildes. The screening occurred just 17 days after a leaked Supreme Court opinion suggesting that Roe v.
“The fight is not over,” said Marie Leaner, a former Jane. “It’s only just begun.”
“The Janes” is one of 10 docus that will screen during the four-day Chicago-based festival. The Doc10 screening of “The Janes,” which will debut on HBO June 8, drew more than 250 people — the festival’s largest crowd in its seven-year history. Ten former Janes were in attendance alongside the doc’s directors, Tia Lessin and Emma Pildes. The screening occurred just 17 days after a leaked Supreme Court opinion suggesting that Roe v.
- 5/20/2022
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
Roadside Attractions is taking U.S. distribution rights to Oscar-Nominee Phyllis Nagy’s theatrical feature directorial debut, Call Jane. A theatrical release is planned for the film this year.
Chicago, 1968. As the city and the nation are poised on the brink of political upheaval, suburban housewife Joy (Elizabeth Banks) leads an ordinary life with her husband and daughter. When Joy’s pregnancy leads to a life-threatening heart condition, she must navigate an all-male medical establishment unwilling to terminate her pregnancy in order to save her life. Her journey for a solution leads her to Virginia (Sigourney Weaver), an independent visionary fiercely committed to women’s health, and Gwen (Wunmi Mosaku), an activist who dreams of a day when all women will have access to abortion, regardless of their ability to pay. Joy is so inspired by their work, she decides to join forces with them, putting every aspect of her life on the line.
Chicago, 1968. As the city and the nation are poised on the brink of political upheaval, suburban housewife Joy (Elizabeth Banks) leads an ordinary life with her husband and daughter. When Joy’s pregnancy leads to a life-threatening heart condition, she must navigate an all-male medical establishment unwilling to terminate her pregnancy in order to save her life. Her journey for a solution leads her to Virginia (Sigourney Weaver), an independent visionary fiercely committed to women’s health, and Gwen (Wunmi Mosaku), an activist who dreams of a day when all women will have access to abortion, regardless of their ability to pay. Joy is so inspired by their work, she decides to join forces with them, putting every aspect of her life on the line.
- 2/4/2022
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
The women at Sundance are screaming at the tops of their lungs. They are saying: Why are you taking our rights away? Why are you turning the clock back 50 years?
As Roe v. Wade hits its 49-year anniversary this weekend with a near-assurance that it will never reach the 50-year landmark, multiple films at the Sundance Film Festival are reminding us what it was like when women did not have the right to choose an abortion.
“Call Jane” stars Elizabeth Banks and Sigourney Weaver in the story of a suburban housewife named Joy (Banks) who sets out to get an abortion in Chicago in 1968, when the practice was illegal. Joy stumbles into an underground network of women (led by Weaver), known as The Jane Collective, who performed surreptitious abortions for women, illegally, until the Supreme Court legalized the terminations in 1973.
The feature is rooted in history and captures the second-class status that women endured,...
As Roe v. Wade hits its 49-year anniversary this weekend with a near-assurance that it will never reach the 50-year landmark, multiple films at the Sundance Film Festival are reminding us what it was like when women did not have the right to choose an abortion.
“Call Jane” stars Elizabeth Banks and Sigourney Weaver in the story of a suburban housewife named Joy (Banks) who sets out to get an abortion in Chicago in 1968, when the practice was illegal. Joy stumbles into an underground network of women (led by Weaver), known as The Jane Collective, who performed surreptitious abortions for women, illegally, until the Supreme Court legalized the terminations in 1973.
The feature is rooted in history and captures the second-class status that women endured,...
- 1/24/2022
- by Sharon Waxman
- The Wrap
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