"A Single Woman" Screens in Washington

Movie poster

A Single Woman brings to life the adventures of Jeannette Rankin (R-MT), the world’s first female Congresswoman who also co-founded the American Civil Liberties Union.

Rankin was a suffragist, and peace activist, inspired by Gandhi. Elected to Congress twice, with over two decades between her terms, she was the only Congressperson to vote against both World Wars. A lifelong advocate for peace, she led a campaign against the Vietnam War in 1968, when she was 87 years old.

Director/Producer Kamala Lopez and Actress/Writer Jeanmarie Simpson will both be in attendance.

Kamala Lopez

Lopez is an actress, filmmaker, and founder of Heroica Films. She has been in a variety of major motion pictures, including: I Heart Huckabees, The Burning Season, Deep Cover, Lightning Jack, and Born in East L.A. She is also the host of the PBS/Wired Magazine Series exploring science and technology, "Wired Science."

Simpson as Jeannette Rankin. (Note the Goddess of Peace statue atop Capitol.)

Simpson wrote the play on which the film is based and stars in the role of Jeannette Rankin. She performed in the play version 263 times in a grassroots tour that included an off-Broadway run at the Culture Project in NYC’s east village in summer 2005. She is founding director of the Nevada Shakespeare Company.

Jeanette Rankin's life was a hymn to peace, sang sweetly amidst the chaos of war.  This work is a fitting testimonial to Jeanette Rankin's courageous public service, the never-ending song of the dove.

~ Congressman Dennis Kucinich, recipient of the 2003 Gandhi Peace Award  

This is one of those rare gems – a film about a character in history, filled with passion and energy ... an amazing glimpse at our first elected woman to Congress, who had the courage to stand up and say no to war ... another war, and, yet, Kamala Lopez’s film mirrors so well our own struggles with this current war and saying no...and those who did not say no and went to war.

~ Patricia Foulkrod, Producer/Director of The Ground Truth (Focus Features/Universal Pictures)

The world doesn't need many of the biographical films that come my way, but this looks to be an exception. Jeanette Rankin is an extraordinary subject, and the prospect of a film that honors the sweep of her life is instantly intriguing.

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