I grew up in South Philly, and the term “tough old broad” was considered a compliment. We Baby Boomers were a new breed of evolution. We marched for women’s rights and civil rights. We burned our bras and informed the patriarchy that we would dance to our own music, so when I was sent Stacey Tenenbaum’s documentary, I immediately connected with the three brave trailblazers who did not relinquish their thirst for justice even in their twilight years.
Tough Old Broads
Tough Old Broads features three amazing and brave women:
Kathrine Switzer was the first woman to officially run the Boston Marathon in 1967 and later helped bring the women’s marathon to the Olympics in 1984. She is also the founder of 261 Fearless, a global non-profit to empower women. At 79, Katherine is still a mentor and advocate.
Siila Watt Cloutier has been fighting for environmental protection before the world understood or even cared about the damage that pollution causes not only to the environment but also to the people who live off the land. Climate crisis is a threat to human rights, and as a key leader for the Inuit Circumpolar Council, Siila had received the Nobel Peace Prize nomination in 2007 for her work in protecting the environment by driving international policy to ban toxic pollutants and reframe global awareness on climate justice.
Sharon Farmer began documenting unrest and social change as a young photographer at Ohio State University in the early 1970s, amid escalating anti-Vietnam War protests following the killing of students at Kent State. She became the first woman and first person of colour to serve as Director of White House Photography. Sharon continues to photograph the realities of injustice. Sharon is still on the streets, focusing her lens on what is now happening in the States.
As I watched this documentary of the struggles and then the victories of these three women, I was filled with such sadness because of the present administration’s disregard for human rights, women’s rights, and the unrestrained destruction of our environment. Would this documentary encourage people to take up the quest for a better world? Hopefully, Stacey Tenenbaum, Director and Producer, can tell us.
Gilbert: Stacey, I want to congratulate you on your film being selected for the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. My first question is, what was the inspiration, that “Lightning Strike” that encouraged you to make this film?
Stacey Tenenbaum: I actually had the title first, and the film kind of grew out of that. It came to me when I was watching a documentary about street photography, and there was this amazing older photographer called Jill Freedman in the film. Jill did photography with police and firefighters in NY in the 1970s and was putting together a book of photography in her 70s. She was just so tough and tenacious. As I was watching that documentary, I commented that she was a real tough old broad – and a film idea was born.
Gilbert: Why were you drawn to these three amazing women? What attracted you to their accomplishments out of the dozens of other trailblazers that were up for consideration? I ask this because I felt a family connection to Kathrine, Siila, and Sharon. They reminded me of my Italian aunts.
Stacey Tenenbaum: I think everybody has a few tough old broads in their lives. That’s why I think the film is so appealing to a wide variety of people. The trick for me was finding the right combination of women to film. I know I wanted them all to be trailblazers, and I wanted them all to be still active in their older years. Those were my two main criteria, but then it turned out that each of them was an activist in their own way and each had created meaningful change in their lifetimes. I think those are the things that tie them all together, even though they are very different people with very different approaches to their activism.
Gilbert: When I watched your film, I was filled with hope, and I am positive other people will feel this same hope when they watch the film, but I was also struck with a deep sadness because I feel that the present administration is willfully destroying all the hard work of Kathrine, Siila, and Sharon. Do you feel that this film will encourage us Baby Boomers (I’m one) and the younger generations to be more proactive in protecting what Kathrine, Siila, and Sharon have fought so hard to win?
Stacey Tenenbaum: I hadn’t expected that the film would be such an emotional experience for audiences, but when I had my first screening in Santa Barbara, I saw both men and women in the cinema tearing up. I think people are so moved by the film because of those two competing emotions you mention. Yes, we have come a long way, and these women do prove that change is possible, but we are in a particularly dark time where a lot of hard-won rights and progress seem to be slipping away. I think my big takeaway from the documentary is that progress isn’t a straight line – there will be backsliding – but we just have to keep at it and move forward, particularly in times like this. I made this film for the younger generation to be inspired by these amazing women and to pick up the torch from them, as issues like women’s rights, civil rights, and climate justice will not be solved in just one generation. I hope young people are inspired to carry on these very important fights.
Gilbert: What project are you working on now?
Stacey Tenenbaum: I am in production on a documentary called The Doppelganger Project about François Brunelle, a Montreal-based photographer who has been taking photos of look-alikes for the past 25 years. The film is about human connection and how we are all more alike than people think. I am very excited about some of the shoots we have planned in China, Israel, Europe and the USA. It is going to be an intense year ahead
Thank you, Stacey, for taking the time to talk about Tough Old Broads.
Tough Old Broads begins its Canadian theatrical run on Friday, March 6th, leading into International Women’s Day on Sunday, March 8th, presented by Northern Banner Releasing.
