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Bella! Featuring Interviews With: Sec. Hillary Clinton Barbra Streisand Shirley MacLaine Letty Cottin Pogrebin Mayor David Dinkins Renee Taylor Leader Nancy Peolosi Marlo Thomas Gloria Steinem Rep. Charles Rangel Rep. Maxine Waters Phil Donahue Lily Tomlin In 1970, when the United States was ruled almost exclusively by men, Bella Abzug challenged the status quo, running a successful campaign that elevated her to one of the highest offices in the country. With a Bronx street swagger and trademark hat, Bella was both loved and feared as she campaigned from the streets of New York to the halls of Congress. Foe of Nixon, friend to Streisand and a leader in the new wave of Feminism, her years of activism reached new levels as she fearlessly confronted the establishment. Penning legislation to champion the rights of women, the LGBT community and the working class, Bella embodied a changing world. Today, as the world confronts an assault on democracy, and events eerily echo those of the 1970s, much can be learned from Bella's bold statements and courageous bipartisan action. While for some a forgotten hero, her battle for equality planted seeds of progress that continue to benefit millions today. At a time when equality is under attack, Bella's tenacity is needed now more than ever. Bella! Crew Writer, Director & Producer Jeff L. Lieberman Executive Producer Liz Abzug Producer Jamila C. Fairley Associate Producer Amy Wilensky Associate Producer Tamar Kaissar www.re-emergingfilms.com Composer Gregoire Lourme [email protected] Why Bella! Why Now? 1. 2020 marks the historic 100-year anniversary of the Women’s Right to Vote, a momentous anniversary that many organizations will be seeking meaningful ways to mark by celebrating women in politics, like Bella Abzug, who fought tirelessly for full equality for all women and all men. 2. The presidential election of 2020 is bringing forward a historic number of female candidates, prompting reflection on the women who blazed their path. 3. Natural celebrity angle, considering the long list of performers, political leaders and personalities featured in the film. 4. Cross-over synergy with the Julie Taymor- directed bio-pic “The Glorias” with Bette Midler playing Bella… and the Cate Blanchett Television series: “Mrs. America”. 5. Commercial success of “RBG” highlighting the theatrical, TV, streaming interest from audiences interested in seeing stories about groundbreaking American female heroes of recent times. 6. 2020 is also the 100-year anniversary of the birth of Bella Abzug, who is finally being recognized for her contributions with a recent NYC street naming, and a brand new park named in her honor in the newly-designed Hudson Yards. 7. A portion of the film’s profits will go directly to The Bella Abzug Leadership Institute, a non-profit dedicated to inspiring, mentoring and training young women to become leaders in creating positive social and economic change. 8. Bella’s relentless efforts in fearlessly combatting corruption in the Nixon Administration, and her continued and early calls for Impeachment and against presidential pardons reveal staggering parallels to today’s headlines. 9. Bella’s early efforts for equality, safety and equal opportunity for women, the working class, people of color, and the LGBT community are finally bearing fruit as we see more of her ideas and legislation becoming mainstream belief. 10. Bella was loud, she was funny, she was larger than life. Her style was iconic, her accent was unforgettable, and she was unstoppable. She defined New York from the Lower East Side to Studio 54, and everything in between. She believed in the good of America, and changed it for the better. Bella! Treatment Introduction The sea of pink hats seemed strikingly familiar. As millions of women descended on major cities around the world to protest the 2017 US inauguration, many were reminded of Bella Abzug. The hats were a marked throwback to the woman who made a hat part of her trademark, and many of Bella’s friends were also being asked, ‘What would Bella say?’ After all, Bella was part of a key group of women who paved the way for the possibility of Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid, and like Hillary, also suffered defeats to less qualified men, and the same increased level of scrutiny and misogynistic commentary. But many were also reminded of Bella because of the immense unification of women in protest for equality. That was distinctly Bella - going back decades through thousands of marches. Yet more than 50 years later, the signs and banners were the same. Many demanded Unity, Peace and Equality – values that defined the life of Bella Abzug, an activist who dedicated her life to those ideals - shouting them in the streets, and taking them all the way to the halls of Congress and the assemblies of the United Nations, where she fought for lasting change. Act 1 In an archival interview, Bella Abzug recalls that she got the most pleasure when she was spending time with working-class people and how much could be accomplished when people joined together. In the early 1960s, Bella began protesting nuclear disarmament by organizing thousands of women to take to the streets. When Women Strike for Peace was accused of Communism and subversion, Bella didn’t back down. She had been battling personal allegations of Communism since college, and as a lawyer, she fought the witch-hunt for years – defending artists Pete Seeger, Zero Mostel and Tony Randall. Her fight against fascism led her squarely against a lynch mob in Mississippi as she tried to defend Willie McGee - a Black Man denied justice, in what became one of the most famous Civil Rights court cases of its era. When Women Strike for Peace members felt that Bella was not “motherly” enough to represent the organization she founded, Bella embraced Feminism. She already had a strong belief in women’s equality since childhood, defying the second-class treatment at her family’s Bronx synagogue. Her subsequent leadership roles in high school and college led to her sharing the stage with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. Yet, the changing tide of the 1960s brought Bella’s demand for equality front and center. It led to friendships, alliances and skirmishes with Gloria Steinem and Betty Friedan as the women’s movement developed, while continuing a commitment to Civil Rights, working with her husband, Martin, advocating for desegregation, and personally selling their home to the family of Malcolm X following his assassination. Bella! Treatment Act 2 Throughout the 1960s, Bella advocated for candidates who lined up with her anti-war beliefs, but often felt she was supporting “men who don’t do what they’re supposed to do”. In 1970, she decided it was time she ran for Congress. Her larger-than-life personality and desire for an organic, progressive and truthful campaign brought together diverse communities from all over Manhattan’s huge west-side district. Barbra Streisand, Shirley MacLaine and other film and Broadway stars campaigned on her behalf, and Bella spent long days talking issues with voters in housing developments, gay bars, Chinese restaurants and community organizations throughout the city. She won that first election with a solid 55% and with only 11 other women joined 420 men in the 92nd Congress. On her first day, Bella introduced a motion calling for the withdrawal of troops from Vietnam. Over the course of 3 terms, Bella pushed landmark legislation that would protect the rights of women, the LGBT community and the disabled. She was the first member of Congress to call for the Nixon’s impeachment, and never stopped fighting for the end of the war in Vietnam. She took on the FBI and the CIA, which led to the discovery that the CIA had been opening her mail for decades. With a small group of courageous women, she fought tirelessly against back room deals, the male political establishment and the corruption that resulted in Watergate - ultimately changing the face of the US Congress. Bella became known for her battles and in 1976, she took a further gamble, giving up her Congressional seat to run for The US Senate, where at the time, there were no female representatives. Her campaign landed her on talk shows, Saturday Night Live, and on the covers of magazines. But her hard-fought battle against the centrist, Daniel Patrick Moynihan would result in a loss by less than 1%. Undeterred, she immediately fought a second battle against four men to become the next Mayor of New York City in 1977. Despite strong polls and a win in Manhattan, Bella lost the race to Ed Koch. She ran for his deserted Congressional seat only to lose again. She had gone from one of the highest offices in the country to a stunning three losses, barely pausing for reflection. She had gone from being one of the highest elected officials in the country to unelectable. Act 3 Bella temporarily found a new voice as a direct advocate for women through organizing the Women’s National Conference, drawing together 20,000 women from every U.S. state to write their own future in a 24-point platform for action. The success led to an appointment to President Jimmy Carter’s National Advisory Committee for Women, but ended abruptly in a humiliating dismissal. She attempted another run for Congress, made an appearance in Woody Allen’s Manhattan, but ultimately could not find the place where she could continue to make a difference… until The UN. Like Eleanor Roosevelt, Bella’s work there would be the hallmark of her life for the next 20 years. Her partnerships would take her to UN conferences all over the world, collaborating with women from remarkably diverse backgrounds to ensure they were represented fairly in all UN’s resolutions.

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