Women’s activist and politician Bella Savitzky Abzug “Battling Bella” is the subject of a new documentary by filmmaker Jeff L. Lieberman titled Bella! which won the The Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize for Film.
The film includes interviews with Hilary Rodham Clinton, Barbara Streisand, Shirley Maclaine, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, Lily Tomlin, Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Gloria Steinem, Phil Donahue, Congressman Charles Rangel, Marlo Thomas, and many more.
Abzug, who passed away in 1998, would have celebrated her 103rd birthday this week, and Barbra Streisand helped celebrate it with the official first look at the trailer (see it below) across all her social media platforms.
Directed by Jeff L. Lieberman, who was recently nominated for an Emmy for the CNN documentary Taking on Taylor Swift, Bella! will open theatrically in New York on Friday, August 18, 2023 at the Village East by Angelika and in Los Angeles on Friday, August 25, 2023 at the Laemmle Monica Film Center.
The first preview screening of Bella!, introduced by Nancy Pelosi, is this Sunday in San Francisco at The Castro Theatre.
As Kamala Harris and Nancy Pelosi lead the nation, they travel a path blazed by several women before them, notably Bella Abzug. In 1970, when the United States was ruled by men, Bella challenged the status quo, running a successful campaign from the streets of Manhattan that elevated her all the way to the halls of Congress. With her trademark hat and Bronx swagger, Bella entered Congress swinging, battling for credit cards for women, equality for the LGBTQ community and trailblazing a path for leadership that reflected the broad diversity of the country.
But, the most recognizable woman in politics also became the target of a Washington establishment resistant to change. With her eyes set on breaking the boys’ club of The US Senate or becoming New York’s first female mayor, Bella battled mounting forces from both the right and the left, and the powers of the Nixon Administration, the CIA, FBI, even The New York Times.
Using never-before-seen home movies, audio diaries, and a vast trove of newly-discovered news footage, Bella! delves into a colorful and gritty era where one woman sacrificed her own political ambitions for future generations of female leadership.
Watch the trailer for Bella!.