‘Call Jane,’ abortion-themed movie filmed in Hartford, will have local premiere amid reproductive rights discourse
“Call Jane,” a new movie about the abortion rights movement of the 1960s that was partly filmed in Hartford last year, will get a special local premiere screening on Oct. 26 at 7 p.m. at Cinestudio on the Trinity College campus at 300 Summit St. in Hartford.
The movie, which has already been shown at international film festivals, has its official U.S. release on Oct. 28.
Described as a comedy/drama, “Call Jane” stars Elizabeth Banks, Sigourney Weaver, Chris Messina and Kate Mara. It is directed by Phyllis Nagy, whose previous movie as a director was “Mrs. Harris” in 2005 and who also wrote the screenplay for 2015′s “Carol.” The screenplay for “Call Jane” was written by the team of Hayley Schore and Roshan Sethi, who wrote for the TV series “The Resident” and “Code Black.”
The film is set in Chicago, where the underground referral service Abortion Counseling Service of Women’s Liberation, better known as the Jane Collective, operated from the late 1960s to the early ‘70s. Hartford’s Charter Oak Avenue had the look the filmmakers needed for the mid-20th century time period. The Rocky Hill-based production company Synthetic Cinema International was involved in the project, as was the Connecticut Office of Film, Television and Digital Media.
Though it was filmed last year, the film’s themes of abortion rights are newly timely since the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs vs. Jackson decision in June. The decision overturned the precedent set with Roe vs. Wade in 1973, which had found that there was a constitutional right to have an abortion. With many reproductive rights issues now determined by individual states, Connecticut has passed ordinances and statutes protecting reproductive rights, expanding abortion access — including to those traveling from other states — and prohibiting deceptive advertising around the issue.
“At a time when women’s rights are under attack, ‘Call Jane’ is a powerful portrayal of the women who fought so hard for those rights, and it underscores exactly why the fight for reproductive rights is so fundamental,” said Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin in a statement announcing the screening.
“I want to thank [Synthetic Cinema owner] Andrew Gernhard and the entire ‘Call Jane’ production crew for choosing Hartford as the location of this important film. We’ve had a number of movies filmed in Hartford in recent years, which is a testament to the history, the architecture, and the character of our city, and also to the work we’ve done, together with our state partners, to make it as easy as possible to make movies here.”
Reach reporter Christopher Arnott at carnott@courant.com.
