The film “Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down” offers an intimate look at the former congresswoman's recovery after a January 2011 shooting. It's also an insider view of how she and her husband, Sen. Mark Kelly, navigated gun control.
“It’s just a fascinating story about how Gabby came back from an injury that so many people just don’t even survive,” said Betsy West, a co-director. “After meeting Gabby on Zoom, we saw just what a great communicator she is. And we had a sense that we might have a lot of fun despite the very difficult subject of gun violence.”“We certainly didn’t want to shy away from January 8. Obviously, that’s something that changed her life,” said Julie Cohen, the film’s other director.
“We did not want to dwell on the shooter but we also wanted to explain what had happened,” West said. “Gabby and Mark did not shy away from going to the sentencing hearing to make a very impassioned plea for life imprisonment. That was a very important part of the film.” Much like after Uvalde, the documentary recaps how gun control debates reached a fever pitch after 26 children and two teachers were shot to death by a gunman at a Newtown, Connecticut, school. Giffords and other advocates, including some Newtown parents, were called “props” by National Rifle Association officials. Having spent time with Giffords and others impacted by gun violence, the film’s directors say their voices are central to the discourse.
A crucial element of the documentary came from videos Kelly had of Giffords in the Tucson hospital and at a rehab facility in Houston. These included then-President Barack Obama — who is interviewed in the film — and Michelle Obama’s visit to an unconscious Giffords’ bedside. They also include the first few months of speech therapy.The bullet penetrated the left hemisphere of Giffords’ brain that services language ability, causing her to suffer from aphasia.
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