On November 8, 2016—Election Day—a collective primal scream began. It was a wake-up call that compelled thousands of women to mobilize in ways that America has never seen before. On January 22, 2017, an estimated 470, 000 people (mostly women) took to the streets –more than three times the number of people who attended the inauguration – to find solace with kindred spirits, exhibit their collective outrage, and affirm their strength. A one-day phenomenon? Hardly.
Women are galvanized to run for office in unprecedented numbers and women at the grassroots level are organizing to ensure that the issues they care about will be addressed and that their voices will be heard. Some are saying that 2018 is on track to be the next Year of the Woman, a throwback to 1992 when the number of female elected officials increased due in large part to backlash from the Anita Hill debacle. The 2018 Mid-Term Elections present an opportunity for a course correction. If the women who are running find common ground with the female foot soldiers at the forefront of movement, then they will capture lighting in a bottle and the next Year of the Woman will move from a theory to reality.
To document the 2018 Mid-Term Elections, Run Like A G.U.R.L. will follow the political campaigns of several women as they run for national office. As we tell their stories, we will go beyond campaign stump speeches and do a deep dive into the concepts and challenges that fuel their campaigns. We will ask the question, do women who run for office face unique challenges and must they adhere to a code that’s totally different from men? Do they need to be knowledgeable without seeming condescending, decisive without appearing bossy, assertive without being characterized as aggressive?
The film will also explore the make-up and motivations of the female electorate. Studies have shown that when women voters go to the polls, candidates win. However, not all women candidates earn the female vote.
What makes women voters decide to support some women candidates while they sit on the sidelines for others? We will conduct interviews with women on the street and delve into this complex issue. We will document the many facets of this women’s movement that seems to gain more strength every day.
Long after the last ballot is counted, the question remains will women have made history? Will women fulfill the promise of 1992 by making 2018 the next Year of the Woman? The 2018 mid-terms promise to be a wave if not a Tsunami year for electing women into office. But whether it’s a Tsunami or a wave or just high tide at the beach depends on whether women show up and show out for each other at the phone banks, on the canvassing trips, and at the polls. Are women willing to do what’s necessary to win? This topic is fueling water cooler conversations all over America and this film will bring that buzz to the screen.