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'Ask for Jane' Film Interview

With lead actress/producer Cait Cortelyou

By Lia F.Published 5 years ago 4 min read
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Ask for Janeis based on the true story of a 1960s underground abortion network in Chicago—Jane Collective—which originally was named Abortion Counseling Service of Women’s Liberation, to help women obtain safe abortions during a time when it's illegal in most of the United States.

46 years after Roe vs Wade, a decision of the US Supreme Court that protects a pregnant woman's liberty to choose whether or not to have an abortion, remains a controversial topic in the US.

The movie comes in no better timing as conservatives of several states (such as Alabama, Ohio, and Georgia) are reversing history with possibly overturning the landmark Roe vs Wade decision. These States recently passed a law that bans abortion in almost all cases, at six weeks, before most women know they are pregnant. This new law does not include exceptions for cases of rape and incest.

Ask for Jane focuses on the women that go through the process, and it's frightening reality when they perform the abortion themselves. At that time, as many as 5,000 women in the US died each year, from mishandled illegal abortions, and the Jane collective wanted to stop the deaths by providing a safe alternative.

We spoke with the lead actress and author Cait Cortelyou, who is also an advocate for Planned Parenthood, about the real story behind the film, the challenges and reactions so far, advise for aspiring female filmmakers, and more.

Interviewer: You brought back a chilling reality that’s very current. What was the main message you wanted to bring across?

Cait Cortelyou: It's funny, because it wasn't current when I first started work on this film in the spring of 2016. When I learned about the Jane Collective, I was simply struck with how women's history is so frequently erased; I was angry that I'd never learned about the Janes in school (even though I went to an all-women's college!), and I just wanted to make a narrative movie to tell their story. My simple goal was for women and girls today to remember the bravery of the Janes, and to be inspired by what we are capable of when we work together.

After the election, the film took on an urgent and frightening relevance, and making the movie became more about reminding people of the realities someone faces when confronted with an unwanted pregnancy. We wanted to humanize the individuals who seek an abortion, to share their stories. I also think it's encouraging to be reminded that women have done this for each other before, and if necessary, we can do so again.

Indeed. Let's talk about the main challenges of the film.

Honestly, one of the main challenges has been convincing people to take a chance on the subject matter, from film critics to investors to distributors. Even when the individuals I speak with are ardently pro-choice themselves, they worry about taking a public stand, and upsetting members of their client base who may have different views. On the one hand I understand that concern, but I also keep thinking of my favorite line from Hamilton: "If you stand for nothing, what will you fall for?"

How was it to work in an almost all female cast and crew?

We were actually a pretty even mix of men and women on set, which was refreshing in and of itself! I've been on plenty of sets before as an actor where I looked around and realized I was the ONLY woman present. I will say that most of the departments heads on Ask for Jane were female-identifying: producers, writer/director, cinematographer, colorist, script supervisor, production designer, key makeup artist, key hair stylist, and costume designer. But I'm really not interested in feminism that excludes men, I think we all need to work together to achieve equality.

What has the reaction of the film been so far?

Pretty tremendous! This was just a small indie film, but we've been written up in Marie Claire, Deadline Hollywood, Variety, ABC News, Ms. Magazine, Jezebel, Bitch, and much more. We've moved on from the festival circuit and are now playing in select cities all over the country, and expect to be released on VOD by the end of the year. The audience talkbacks we've done have also been incredibly moving: at almost every single one, someone either shares their own abortion story in the audience, or they come up afterwards to talk with me about it. Our society has stigmatized abortion so severely that it's easy to forget the statistic: one in four women will have an abortion in their lifetime. If you don't think you know someone who has, they probably just haven't told you. I applaud actor Busy Philipps who has been working to remove this stigma with her hashtag #YouKnowMe, and I'm proud to have made a film that holds space for these stories to be shared.

Any advice to aspiring women filmmakers?

My favorite advice is just to find your people, those collaborators you vibe with and respect—for instance, my artistic home for the past four years has been the Shelter theater company, which is where I met Ask for Jane writer/director Rachel Carey, as well as the writer of my next feature that's currently in development. My other piece of advice is to really believe in yourself and the story you have to tell—there will always be naysayers, but every "no" you hear means you're that much closer to finding that "yes."

The film is currently playing in selected theaters. To find out more, click here

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About the Creator

Lia F.

I'm an actress of Portuguese and German descent, with a lot to say! Love storytelling, specially the ones that explore social issues. Social awareness through art.

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