Kathy Shayna Shocket | Special to WJW
In their newest collaboration, Julie Cohen and Betsy West, the filmmakers known for their documentaries about powerful women, including the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (“RBG”) and culinary icon Julia Child (“Julia”), now spotlight former Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle “Gabby” Giffords.
“Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down” portrays Giffords’ relentless journey in the face of the tragic assassination attempt that changed her life on Jan. 8, 2011.
Giffords was shot at point-blank range in the head during her “Congress on Your Corner” constituent event outside a Tucson grocery store.
The gunman killed six people, including a 9-year-old girl and wounded 12 others. In the panic of the mass shooting, some media outlets first reported Giffords was dead. Cohen and West personalize the remarkable story of Giffords’ grueling recovery and her triumphant comeback.
They also capture the personal story of Giffords and her husband, Mark Kelly, a former NASA astronaut and current Arizona senator.
With unprecedented access to filming the couple over two years, blended with Kelly’s home videos of Giffords in the hospital and rehab trying to regain her speech and mobility, Cohen and West give moviegoers a very candid view of Giffords’ perseverance.
Speaking with the filmmakers following the film’s premiere in Washington, D.C., with Giffords, they recalled the first time they met the couple during the pandemic over a Zoom call.
“A virtual meeting didn’t seem like the best way to begin a relationship, especially with someone who has aphasia, a brain condition that makes communication challenging,” said Cohen.
“But within a few minutes of meeting Gabby and her husband, Betsy and I were texting each other that we had to make a documentary about this phenomenal person.”
The directors said they were also compelled by the couple’s love story, which is reflected when Kelly retires from NASA in the wake of his wife’s profound injuries and assumes the role of caretaker.
Eventually, Giffords resigned from Congress to focus on her recovery. And a decade later, Kelly would decide to run and win the senate seat once held by the late John McCain.
The filmmakers wanted to highlight these pivotal roles. In fact, in the film, Kelly reveals how he first thought his job going into space was risky, but as it turns out, it was actually his wife’s job that was riskier.
Cohen and West were also drawn to Giffords’ spirit, her love of music (which is incorporated artfully into the film and played a significant role in Giffords’ recovery) and her sense of humor.
Not only did Giffords tell them in that very first Zoom meeting that she was a fan of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and a fan of their “RBG” film, but she lifted her foot into the view of the camera to show she was wearing RBG socks.
“Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down” is playing in theaters nationwide.
Kathy Shayna Shocket is a writer and reporter based in Phoenix and Los Angeles.
