"I made a documentary about teenage pregnancy when I was 17, and ten years later I believe I've come full-circle with the making of The Defenders. This experience has been rewarding in many ways, and I am especially honored that I got the opportunity to meet and talk with the women and men who each played a part in the preservation of reproductive rights in Wisconsin. I hope the documentary shares with audiences the enormous importance of the history of this organization, and that it does justice to celebrating the lives and rights of women everywhere." - Dawnee Dodson |
The Defenders: After eighteen months of research, interviews, editing, and refining, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin's feature length documentary The Defenders: A history of the birth control movement in Wisconsin was launched. Back to back premieres were held on September 13, at the Orpheum Theatre in Madison and on September 14, at the Oriental Theatre in Milwaukee. More than 900 people attended the premieres. The film was originally proposed as a five-minute visual celebration for Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin's 70th anniversary celebrations in 2005, but quickly developed into an in-depth, 90 minute exploration and documentation of the birth control movement. This prophetic project celebrates a profound social movement at a time of great political turmoil. We are facing the greatest political challenges to reproductive health care since 1973, yet people are unaware of what is happening. And our history is slipping away from us because many of the women and men who had the vision for this remarkable organization and movement are gone. The film will be used to educate the public about what it took to gain the right to birth control and safe legal abortion, and what it will take to hold on to these basic human rights. To learn more about The Defenders visit:
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