THE JANES

The Oscar Shortlisted and Emmy Nominated Film is an HBO Feature Documentary Co-Directed by Tia Lessin and Emma Pildes

Production Assistant - The Janes tells the revelatory story of a group of unlikely outlaws defying the state legislature that outlawed abortion to support women with unwanted pregnancies in the pre-Roe v. Wade era. In the spring of 1972, police raided an apartment on the South Side of Chicago where seven women who were part of a clandestine network were arrested and charged. Using code names, fronts, and safe houses to protect themselves and their work, the accused had built an underground service for women seeking safe, affordable, illegal abortions. They called themselves "Jane." The Janes offers first-hand accounts from the women at the center of the group, many speaking on the record for the first time. The Janes tells the story of a group of unlikely outlaws. Defying the state legislature that outlawed abortion, the Catholic Church that condemned it, and the Chicago Mob that was profiting from it, the members of Jane risked their personal and professional lives to help women in need. In the pre-Roe v. Wade era –– a time when abortion was a crime in most states and even circulating information about abortion was a felony in Illinois –– the Janes provided low-cost and free abortions to an estimated 11,000 women.

"URGENT AND THOROUGHLY ENGAGING"

SHERI LINDEN, THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

"...SEARING AND SOBERING...DIRECTORS TIA LESSIN AND EMMA PILDES DO NOMINATION-WORTHY WORK..."

RICHARD ROEPER, THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES 

"AT ONCE DEEPLY PERSONAL AND PAINFULLY POLITICAL, THE JANES SHOULD BE REQUIRED WATCHING FOR EVERYONE."

KATE ERBLAND, INDIEWIRE

JOIN OR DIE

A film about why you should join a club — and why the fate of America depends on it.

Associate Producer - Join or Die is a film about why you should join a club—and why the fate of America depends on it. Follow the story of America's civic unraveling through the journey of Robert Putnam, whose legendary "Bowling Alone" research into American community decline may hold the answers to our democracy's present crisis. Join or Die premiered at SXSW in 2023 and is currently touring film festivals. Read more about the film and see where it’s screening near you, here.

PAY OR DIE

A feature documentary on the insulin crisis in America

Contributor - Pay Or Die is a feature documentary on the insulin crisis in the US. Today, nearly 2 million Americans are being held for ransom. Without insulin, they’ll be dead in days. PAY OR DIE follows families on the receiving end of these ransom notes, revealing the harrowing reality of life with chronic illness in the richest country in the world. From a mother and daughter struggling to rebuild their lives after losing their home when they had to spend their rent money on insulin, to a young adult diagnosed with type 1 diabetes during the COVID-19 pandemic, to a Minnesota family thrust into the national spotlight when their 26-year-old son dies from rationing his insulin, "Pay or Die" lays bare the human cost of America’s insulin affordability crisis.

THE MEN WHO SOLD THE WORLD CUP

A two-part documentary series investigating how FIFA sold the World Cup to Qatar in 2022

Archival Researcher - The Men Who Sold The World Cup is a two-part documentary series that investigates the corruption, backroom deals, and greed at the heart of FIFA and how it led to the selection of Qatar to host the 2022 World Cup.