Inside the ACLU, a team of scrappy lawyers batlle Trump’s historic assault on civil liberties. As the president separates families, blocks abortion access, expels transgender soldiers, and rolls back voting rights, these gutsy attorneys struggle to stop an unpredictable adversary with unlimited resources.
ABOUT
This year is the 100th anniversary of the founding of the ACLU - The American Civil Liberties Union - a not-for-profit organisation created "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States”. Before President Trump came into power, few people outside the USA would have known the acronym or organisation. Just seven days after Trump’s inauguration in 2017, the ACLU filed the first of over 140 lawsuits against the administration to date, this story profiles four of these lawsuits and the tenacious team of lawyers and lobbyists working to uphold and protect basic civil liberties. From the team behind Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize winner and BAFTA nominated Weiner, The Fight is a gritty behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to sue the government of the United States. The four cases cover the breath and depth of the civil liberties that the Trump administration wish to erode: abortion rights, voting rights, family separation and transgender in the military. Spanning from early 2017 up to the end of Summer 2019, The Fight also covers all the aspects of working in an organisation that covers the rights of all citizens of America, including the far right, and the internal pressures and toll that takes.
Synopsis
This year is the 100th anniversary of the founding of the ACLU - The American Civil Liberties Union - a not-for-profit organisation created "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States”. Before President Trump came into power, few people outside the USA would have known the acronym or organisation. Just seven days after Trump’s inauguration in 2017, the ACLU filed the first of over 140 lawsuits against the administration to date, this story profiles four of these lawsuits and the tenacious team of lawyers and lobbyists working to uphold and protect basic civil liberties. From the team behind Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize winner and BAFTA nominated Weiner, The Fight is a gritty behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to sue the government of the United States. The four cases cover the breath and depth of the civil liberties that the Trump administration wish to erode: abortion rights, voting rights, family separation and transgender in the military. Spanning from early 2017 up to the end of Summer 2019, The Fight also covers all the aspects of working in an organisation that covers the rights of all citizens of America, including the far right, and the internal pressures and toll that takes.
FILMMAKERS
Elyse Steinberg, Joshua Kriegman, Eli Despres (directors
/
producers) previously collaborated on the documentary Weiner, a Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize winner and BAFTA Award nominee that was shortlisted for an Academy Award. Steinberg and Kriegman were co-directors
/
producers (nominated for a DGA Award), and Despres was the editor and writer. Together, they created, co-directed, and execu$ve produced the critically acclaimed Showtime docu-series Couples Therapy, which made numerous critics top-ten lists for 2019 and has just been renewed for its second season. Steinberg and Kriegman made Variety’s 2016 list of "top ten documakers to watch." Steinberg also directed the acclaimed feature documentary The Trial of Saddam Hussein (PBS). Despres’s other editing credits include BAFTA Award nominee Blackfish and Cannes Film Festival selection Red Army. He is a two-time nominee for a documentary American Cinema Editors Award.
Elyse Steinberg, Joshua Kriegman, Eli Despres
Elyse Steinberg, Joshua Kriegman, Eli Despres (directors
/
producers) previously collaborated on the documentary Weiner, a Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize winner and BAFTA Award nominee that was shortlisted for an Academy Award. Steinberg and Kriegman were co-directors
/
producers (nominated for a DGA Award), and Despres was the editor and writer. Together, they created, co-directed, and execu$ve produced the critically acclaimed Showtime docu-series Couples Therapy, which made numerous critics top-ten lists for 2019 and has just been renewed for its second season. Steinberg and Kriegman made Variety’s 2016 list of "top ten documakers to watch." Steinberg also directed the acclaimed feature documentary The Trial of Saddam Hussein (PBS). Despres’s other editing credits include BAFTA Award nominee Blackfish and Cannes Film Festival selection Red Army. He is a two-time nominee for a documentary American Cinema Editors Award.
Reviews
"Jubilant" ★★★★★ - Evening Standard
"A celebratory portrait of the ACLU" ★★★★ - Financial Times
"Lively" ★★★★ - The Guardian
★★★★ - Empire