Briarcliff Entertainment Acquires North American Rights To Betsy West-Julie Cohen Documentary ‘Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down’
deadline.comBriarcliff Entertainment has acquired the North American rights to Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down, the new documentary from directors Betsy West and Julie Cohen.The distributor plans to open the film nationwide on July 15, with CNN Films planning to air it later in the year.The project tells the story of Giffords, who was seriously wounded in a 2011 assassination attempt and mass shooting while she was a congresswoman in Arizona.
As she recovered, she became a leading advocate for gun violence prevention, along with her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, who was later elected to the Senate.
Giffords also has promoted the understanding of aphasia, a language condition caused by brain damage. The project, which premiered at SXSW Film Festival last month, also features interviews with figures such as Barack Obama, and includes videos of Giffords in the weeks following the shootings.Lisa Erspamer is producer of the documentary, and Amy Entelis and Courtney Sexton of CNN Films are executive producers along with West and Cohen.
Other EPs include an Orefice and Alexandra Johnes of Time Studios and Oren Jacoby of Storyville Films.Tom Ortenberg, CEO of Briarcliff, said in a statement that the project “is a motion picture for the ages and a more than worthy follow up to Julie and Betsy’s Award-winning film RBG.
Read more on deadline.com
