Cynthia Lowen and Nicole Shipley fear it could be too late for pro-choice supporters to make a comeback in November’s midterm election following the U.S. Supreme Court’s June decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, despite abortion matters being a top issue among Democrats.
Their panic stems from a years-long project following the tireless efforts of pro-life supporters — who they call “anti-abortion” supporters — and their initiative to enter a “post-Roe world,” a journey chronicled in the new documentary “Battleground.” The film had its first Los Angeles screening at the West Hollywood Edition hotel on Sept. 20, leaving audiences aghast as they were motivated to elicit change in the abortion movement.
Lowen, an Emmy-nominated filmmaker known for directing and producing 2018′s “Netizens,” a feature documentary following a group of women targeted by online harassment, directed and produced “Battleground.”
The film opens with a voice recording of former President Donald Trump speaking with a group of far-right Christian Republicans, 40 days before the 2016 election. It’s revealed during this recording and throughout the course of the film that Trump promised several anti-abortion organizations that he’d intervene with matters of legislation and the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade in return for their votes in the election.
“Battleground” takes an editorial approach following the perspective of three ambitious women — Kristan Hawkins, Marjorie Dannenfelser and Terrisa Bukovinac — as they travel across the country, faitfully attending major anti-abortion events, including the enactment of the Alabama 2019 Human Life Protection Act, former Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s funeral service and the confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett. All three women effectively and tenaciously rallied large groups of anti-abortion supporters in the years leading up to the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling, while pro-choice supporters incredulously sat on the sidelines.
“I really wanted to look at sort of the bird’s-eye view of the power structures and how it’s possible that the ‘antis’ were being so successful,” Lowen said in an interview with Ampersand prior to the film’s screening.
A moment of clear impact that stood out to the director during the shooting of “Battleground” was summer of 2020 when feminist and civil rights champion Justice Ginsburg died. Lowen had been following the anti-abortion movement for more than a year, and said it became immediately clear that Roe would be overturned, bolstered by the leaked Supreme Court draft decision that surfaced in 2022.
“Being inside the movement in advance of that happening was a window into just how determined and how organized [the anti-abortion supporters] were,” she said.
Shipley, meanwhile, is the CEO of Safe Space Pictures, a media organization responsible for producing social impact stories such as Netflix’s five-time-Oscar-winning “The Trial of the Chicago 7.” When Shipley joined as an executive producer of “Battleground” in September 2021, she felt as if no one in entertainment media had covered the prominence of abortion issues and how quickly they were changing at the hands of anti-abortion supporters. Shipley was furious that there were “crickets” from the pro-choice side, which she believes led to a domino effect for the women spearheading the anti-abortion movement.
“It was essential for me that we help Cynthia and team get this film in front of as many people as possible,” Shipley said. “We want to put stories out there that support filmmakers who take risks and showcase opinions that are different than their own.”
Following the film’s screening, former CNN chief White House correspondent Jessica Yellin led a thought-provoking conversation with Lowen, the co-founder of Center for Intersectional Media and Entertainment Joy Donnell, and journalist and founding member of I am a Voter, Melissa Magsaysay. Together the group unpacked questions about the surprising demographics of anti-abortion activists, how people of color are disporportionately impacted by anti-abortion policies, and what Democrats and pro-choice advocates still need to do to galvanize voters for November’s election.
One audience member, who told the panel she was 13 years old, asked what she could do to help pro-choice advocates. Magsaysay encouraged her to engage with her peers about the subject on social media, and Lowen directed her to the “Battleground” website to learn about the multi-partner impact campaign rolling out with the film’s theatrical release on Oct. 7. In addition to the film’s release, civil and reproductive rights organizations will attend screenings across the country to engage audiences in a Q&A following the film.
Lowen and Shipley’s hope for “Battleground” is that it educates audiences about the ongoing anti-abortion movement from a disparate perspective and encourages them to have conversations with those who have opposing views. But their biggest expectation for the film is that it serves as a catalyst for the pro-choice side to take political action in the same relentless way anti-abortion supporters have shown up for the cause.
“There’s so much work that needs to be done,” Shipley said. “But we can be a part of that change.”
For a list of upcoming screenings of “Battleground,” click here.