‘Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down’ shows former
congresswoman’s recovery after mass shooting
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July 20, 2022
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Whilst filmmaker betsy white and her directing partner julie cohen logged onto zoom for their first communication with former arizona congresswoman gabby giffords, they had been worried, west says.
For one aspect, zoom? It was april 2020, best a month into the pandemic lockdown, and neither west nor cohen had been secure yet with the video-calling app that quickly could be ubiquitous.
West and cohen, whose preceding documentary “rbg” instructed the story of preferrred courtroom justice ruth bader ginsburg, also knew giffords still struggled with her verbal verbal exchange due to the mind damage she’d suffered in a 2011 assassination strive.
Gabby Giffords, center, the subject of the documentary film “Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down,” poses with the film’s co-directors Julie Cohen, left, and Betsy West, Tuesday, June 21, 2022, at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Gabby Giffords, left, and Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., arrive for the world premiere of “Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down” at the Paramount Theatre during the South by Southwest Film Festival on Saturday, March 12, 2022, in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Jack Plunkett/Invision/AP)
After former Arizona congresswoman Gabby Giffords was gravely injured in a 2011 mass shooting she eventually turned her attention the fight for stronger gun safety laws. She’s seen here during a speech in an image from the new documentary “Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down.” (Photo courtesy of the filmmakers)
Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly seen here in an image from the new documentary, “Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down.” When the Arizona congresswoman was shot and gravely injured in a 2011 mass shooting she came back to launch Giffords, a gun safety advocacy group. Her husband Mark Kelly, a former NASA astronaut, was elected to the U.S. Senate from Arizona in 2020. (Photo by Dyanna Taylor)
Emergency personnel work at the scene where Rep. Gabby Giffords, D-Ariz., and others were shot outside a Safeway grocery store in Tucson, Ariz. on Jan. 8, 2011. The new documentary “Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down” traces recovery and comeback to become a prominent advocate for better gun safety laws. (AP Photo/Matt York, File)
Betsy West is the co-director with Julia Cohen of the new documentary “Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down,” the story of the former Arizona congresswoman, who after her recovery from a gunshot to the head became a prominent gun-safety advocate. (Photo by Kristin Hoebermann)
Julie Cohen is the co-director with Betsy West of the new documentary “Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down,” the story of the former Arizona congresswoman, who after her recovery from a gunshot to the head became a prominent gun-safety advocate. (Photo by Kristin Hoebermann)
Former congresswoman and gun violence survivor Gabby Giffords, right, speaks with Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Ga., at a Gun Violence Memorial installation on the National Mall in Washington, Tuesday, June 7, 2022. The flowers are meant to represent the number of Americans who die from gun violence each year. A similar scene is shown in the new documentary “Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down.” (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
President Joe Biden awards the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, to Gabrielle Giffords, during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Thursday, July 7, 2022. Giffords is a former member of the House of Representatives from Arizona, who was gravely wounded when she was shot in the head in January 2011 during a constituent event in Tucson. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Former Arizona congresswoman Gabby Giffords is seen here riding her bicycle in a scene from the new documentary “Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down.” (Photo by Dyanna Taylor)
“we have been simply questioning, ‘how’s this gonna paintings?’” west says. “and the zoom call turned into splendid.
“i mean, the primary thing that gabby did changed into carry up her foot to the cameras to expose us she become wearing rbg socks,” west says. “and it just went from there.”
“she became so captivating and in reality together with her husband,” she says, adding that he turned into now not yet a senator on the time of this primary speak. “so i will just say mark kelly in place of senator kelly.”
Kelly, a former astronaut, was also open to the concept of a documentary on what giffords and he had skilled since the jan. 8, 2011 mass shooting that left six lifeless and giffords so gravely injured that some preliminary news reviews stated she had died, too.
Giffords, who fielded questions through e-mail due to the language difficulties of her aphasia, stated the meeting also satisfied her that west and cohen have been the right human beings to inform her tale.
“there are continually concerns while you welcome strangers with cameras into your house,” she wrote. “but making this film appeared like a becoming manner to share my adventure with the arena and convey interest to the troubles that are important to me, like gun violence and aphasia.”
West says she and cohen knew the instant they disconnected the decision that they desired to make the documentary, which arrived in theaters this month with the name of “gabby giffords won’t go into reverse.”
“after that call, we had been texting every other: ‘we must do a document about this female!’ ” west says. “she turned into just top notch.”
The comeback
The outlines of giffords’ tale are probable acquainted. A growing megastar in politics on the time of the taking pictures, giffords struggled to get better against long odds. Kelly, apart from piloting the final flight of the gap go back and forth endeavour, turned into by means of her side throughout.
While she lower back to the floor of the residence of representatives to forged a vote in august 2011, it became an emotional sensation. For the reason that then, she’s released the giffords’ gun-protection advocacy organisation. Kelly was elected to the u.S. Senate from arizona in 2020.
“gabby giffords gained’t backtrack” consists of all of that, of path, but it’s a far extra intimate and personal story common, specializing in her recuperation from the gunshot damage thanks to hours of videotape kelly recorded at some stage in giffords recovery.
“a touch bit of this footage had been seen before in some information reports and things, however i don’t think we had been privy to the volume of it, and the way it truely charts this awesome comeback that gabby crafted from the earliest days while she’s mendacity comatose in the clinic mattress,” west says.
“after which she’s wide awake, however she can’t speak,” she says. “how the speech pathologist worked together with her day after day to slowly get her to regain a number of her speech is notable.
“to peer that over time, we thought became fascinating,” west says.
Giffords, whose group of bodily, speech and occupational therapists are the unsung heroes of her restoration, says she become happy to proportion pictures of her time with them with the filmmakers, even though it wasn’t always smooth to observe.
“as for moments that were tough, i assume i struggled the most with the pictures that mark filmed in the health center,” giffords says. “i’ve come to this point, however nevertheless it’s tough to keep in mind the early days of my recuperation.”
The ones scenes can be hard, even though as with plenty of the film, giffords and kelly regularly display a lightness and a humorousness even within the toughest times.
“she became enormously open and we had just giant get entry to,” west says. “gabby is an exuberant, a laugh character to spend time with. Julie and i had been singing with her a lot because she loves to sing.”
She jokes that giffords’ love of ’80s pop hits consisting of tom petty’s “i won’t back down,” which became part of the movie’s name, pressured them to growth the budget for song rights.
“like she’s making a song, ‘i nonetheless haven’t observed what i’m searching out’ (by u2),” west says. “how can we not license that track?
“we actually just had so much a laugh i don’t suppose we have been expecting.”
The love story
The sweetest moments within the movie come when giffords and kelly are together and their love shines brightly on the screen.
They snicker collectively as they display the filmmakers a plastic field that contains a chunk of giffords’ skull, removed throughout surgery to keep her lifestyles, that’s stored in the freezer with the frozen peas and ice cream. And they’re smooth in small moments during the movie: using bicycles collectively in washington d.C., operating together on kelly’s speeches for the senate campaign, or genuinely sitting aspect via facet at home.
“i cherished looking the scene with me and mark operating on his speech,” giffords says. “it’s any such a laugh glimpse into our teamwork and partnership. Betsy and julie like to call their films ‘feminist love testimonies,’ and that i couldn’t agree greater.”
Kelly, she maintains, is “my rock and my best buddy. He’s also the funniest person i recognize – no one could make me snigger like he can – and i'm so lucky to have him by way of my aspect.
“his unwavering help, kindness, and braveness suggest the world to me,” giffords says. “looking our dating on display screen gave me a peek of the way others would possibly see us, and it only showed what i’ve recognised this whole time: i wouldn’t be where i'm nowadays without him.”
Those styles of candy moments gave west and cohen plenty of fabric to balance with more difficult truths about the gun violence that almost ended giffords’ life.
“it’s a steady dialogue,” west says of locating the right mix of material at some stage in the edit. “often, we’re moving the scenes around: ‘hello, we need a touch mark and gabby here; we need to lighten it up. Adequate, now we want to introduce the hard time when newtown took place, the taking pictures, and how that became such a turning factor for gabby, whilst she found out that she had a completely unique possibility as a baby-kisser and a victim of gun violence.’”
The intention, she says, is to finish with a film that reaches visitors on many stages.
“we would simply form of move the pieces around to get the right balance,” west says. “i suggest, you need to have a film that is exciting, that is interesting. You discover the stability via the way you match and blend the scenes.”
The advocate
It’s a sad truth that while the film consists of references and pictures from mass shootings in cities including newtown, connecticut, and parkland, florida, in current months the names of cities consisting of uvalde, texas and highland park, illinois have joined the roll call of mass shootings.
Giffords says she’s now not discouraged, pointing to the 460 gun safety laws handed in the america since the sandy hook basic college taking pictures in newtown in 2012.
“transformative change doesn’t happen all of sudden,” she says. “i know through my personal healing journey that it takes many incremental steps to reach your goals. If we gave up after each setback, there wouldn’t be any development in any respect.
“while you’re surrounded by way of those who are fighting so difficult to save lives, there’s no desire but to maintain going and keep transferring beforehand,” giffords says.
In advance this month, president joe biden awarded giffords with the presidential medal of freedom for her work on behalf of gun protection.
“whilst he first called me, i was taken aback,” she says. “it’s a privilege to be recognized for public service, which i have committed a lot of my to, and i’m so grateful for it.
“but i recognise this honor reaches some distance past me and speaks to difficult work and dedication of the gun violence prevention motion as a whole.
“without absolutely everyone in this combat, we wouldn’t be in which we're these days.”
