{"id":21173,"date":"2020-10-20T14:38:34","date_gmt":"2020-10-20T21:38:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/independentlens\/?post_type=blog&p=21173"},"modified":"2023-09-06T16:10:45","modified_gmt":"2023-09-06T23:10:45","slug":"how-three-passionate-candidates-represent-women-shaping-the-future","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/blog\/how-three-passionate-candidates-represent-women-shaping-the-future\/","title":{"rendered":"How Three Passionate Candidates Represent Women Shaping the Future"},"content":{"rendered":"

What does “representation” mean in the midst of a historically tense election year?\u00a0 In her film Represent<\/em><\/a><\/strong>, filmmaker Hillary Bachelder<\/strong> sought to show the universal struggle to redefine repressive expectations for women in politics with a look at three women running for office in a male-dominated world.<\/span><\/p>\n

Originally from Maine, Bachelder went to Chicago for schooling at Northwestern, worked for renowned documentary producer Kartemquin films as Director of Production (where she worked on the Emmy-award-winning <\/span>Trials of Muhammad Ali<\/span><\/i><\/a> and Oscar-nominated <\/span>Minding the Gap<\/span><\/i>)<\/span>, <\/span><\/i>and has embedded herself in the Midwest ever since. <\/span>Bachelder also <\/span>wrote in detail <\/span><\/a>about the struggles of being a filmmaker after the COVID pandemic hit hard. But despite her own loss of opportunities for the foreseeable future, she remains “cautiously hopeful for the future of <\/span>Represent<\/span><\/i>. The film follows three everyday women who ran for local office in their communities, on both sides of the aisle. In a national election year, their stories feel very much of the cultural and political zeitgeist.”<\/span><\/p>\n

“Heading into the homestretch of this year\u2019s election, <\/span>Represent<\/span><\/i> feels like a balm,” wrote Monica Castillo for RogerEbert. “A reminder that, win or lose, there\u2019s something to be gained by reigniting people\u2019s interest in civil engagement, especially at the local and state level. You don\u2019t have to agree with everyone\u2019s politics in the documentary, but it\u2019s nonetheless fascinating to hear each story and feel reinvigorated and moved by their determination.” <\/span><\/p>\n

Bachelder talked to us about the meaning of representation, how the women running for office featured in the film came to trust her, and what they’re doing in the election year 2020.<\/span><\/p>\n

“I was looking for a window into the current political landscape, exploring the experiences of women in office beyond a tired ‘year of the woman’ or ‘pink wave’ trope.”<\/pullquote><\/span><\/p>\n

What led you to want to make this film? And what does the word “represent” as the title mean to you in the context of these stories?<\/b><\/p>\n

In April of 2017, I sat in a sunlit room in Wisconsin, exchanging pleasantries with twenty or so local farmers. They were all women, and today they\u2019d all raised their hands to say they were interested in running for office.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the five months since Hillary Clinton had lost the presidential election, I\u2019d been showing up to a lot of rooms like these and meeting women just like this. Unpolished but determined. Passionate about fire stations and ditches and the schools in their community and tired of waiting for someone else to fix things.<\/span><\/p>\n

I knew this was a story I wanted to tell.<\/span> I was looking for a window into the current political landscape and was interested in exploring the experiences of women in office beyond a tired \u201cyear of the woman\u201d or \u201cpink wave\u201d trope. Local politics felt like the perfect place to dig in\u2014an opportunity to both celebrate the important work being done at this level while interrogating the systemic failings and intrinsic biases apparent even in these \u201csmallest\u201d of elections. So I borrowed a friend\u2019s camera, packed up my car, and spent the next few years chasing Myya, Bryn, and Julie through parades and fundraisers and chili cook-offs across the Midwest.<\/span><\/p>\n