The Jennifer Lawrence-produced documentary “Zurawski V Texas” is coming to theaters soon

EXCLUSIVE: Zurawski vs. TexasThe urgent documentary about women who sued Texas after the state’s strict anti-abortion laws nearly cost them their lives is coming to theaters before the presidential election.

Deadline can report that the film, directed by Maisie Crow and Abbie Perrault and executive produced by a team including Jennifer Lawrence, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Chelsea Clinton, opens October 25 in New York, Los Angeles and cities across Texas comes to cinemas.

Austin, Texas resident Amanda Zurawski, the lead plaintiff in the case, became pregnant in 2022, the same year that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Roe v. Wade repealed, leading Texas and other states to impose near-total bans on abortion. At 18 weeks pregnant, Zurawski suffered serious complications that doctors knew would be fatal for her unborn daughter. Despite the potential threat to Zurawski’s life, medical staff told her they could not intervene to terminate the pregnancy because Texas law could expose her to criminal prosecution. As a result, Zurawski developed sepsis, which almost killed her.

“Devastated and angry, Amanda and her husband Josh turned their tragedy into a mission to ensure no one else suffers the same fate,” a press release about the documentary said. The film, which premiered in Telluride, also follows the case of another Texas woman, Samantha Casiano, who “learned during an ultrasound at 20 weeks that her baby had no chance of survival” because she did not have the means to contact the state Abandoned, she was forced to carry the pregnancy to term and endure the agony of childbirth, watching her baby suffer and die within hours of birth.”

Another main character in the film, Dr. Austin Dennard, a Texas gynecologist, “knew her pregnancy was fatal, but fear of losing her license and a 99-year prison sentence meant she couldn’t get medical care in her own state.” When she was forced to leave Texas for her own abortion, she returned to work knowing she would have to turn away patients who were in the same heartbreaking situation she had just experienced.”

Zurawski vs. Texas also follows Molly Duane of the Center for Reproductive Rights, the attorney representing the 20 women who joined the lawsuit. The legal battle ultimately ended up in the Texas Supreme Court.

The documentary opens Friday, October 25, in New York at Angelika’s Village East and in Los Angeles at the Laemmle Monica Film Center. It is scheduled to play in Dallas at the Texas Theater on October 27, 28 and 29; Alamo Lakeline in Austin on October 28; Alamo Stone Oak in San Antonio on October 29th, with additional Texas locations expected to be added in the coming days. Filmmakers Crow and Perrault and documentary participants will participate in question-and-answer sessions at select screenings in Los Angeles, New York and Dallas. The theatrical release qualifies the film for the Oscar selection for best documentary.

“We felt it was critical to not only release the film in theaters in traditional markets like New York and Los Angeles,” said director Maisie Crow, “but to make it available in locations throughout Texas during this time slot to ensure “That Texans understand what these abortion bans mean in practice.”

As part of the film team’s impactful launch, free screenings will be held this month in states where abortion access initiatives are on the agenda, including Phoenix, Arizona; Miami; St. Louis, MO; Charlotte, NC and Las Vegas.

At the Telluride premiere, the filmmakers were joined by documentary film participants Zurawski, Cassiano and Dr. Dennard was accompanied by Secretary of State Clinton and Chelsea Clinton. During a subsequent question-and-answer session, Secretary Clinton said, “I don’t think we can [over]Appreciate how important this film is in breaking through the eye-rolling, denial, contempt and cruelty that has affected the lives and futures of so many women in our country today.”

She added: “Of course there are many stories about abortion and reproductive health, but in the wake of the reversal of Roe…this is truly a film that breaks through the denial and the indifference.” And that’s only because the women on that stage were ready to tell their stories.”

Next week, Zurawski vs. Texas continues its festival run, screening at the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival in Arkansas (October 17), the Montclair Film Festival in New Jersey (October 19 and 27), the AFI Fest in Los Angeles (October 23) and the Chicago International Film Festival (October 26, 27) and GlobeDocs in Boston (October 27), as well as several other festivals throughout the month.

Zurawski vs. Texas won the Artemis Rising Foundation Award for Social Impact at the Hamptons International Film Festival and the Audience Favorite Award in the Active Cinema section of the Mill Valley Film Festival. The film is produced by HiddenLight Productions – founded by Hillary Clinton, Sam Branson and Chelsea Clinton – Story Force Entertainment and Out of Nowhere. It is also produced in collaboration with Excellent Cadaver – the production company founded by Jennifer Lawrence and Justine Ciarrocchi – and Bumble Inc.

Zurawski vs. Texas Directed by Maisie Crow and Abbie Perrault, produced by Amy Flanagan, Siobhan Sinnerton, Blye Pagon Faust, Cori Shepherd, Maisie Crow and Abbie Perrault. Executive producers include Hillary Clinton, Chelsea Clinton, Jennifer Lawrence, Justine Ciarrocchi, Bari Lurie, Johnny Webb, Linda Himelstein, Laurie Michaels and Amy Metzler Ritter.

The film was edited by Austin Reedy; Maisie Crow is cinematographer Maisie Crow; The original music is by Osei Essed.

HiddenLight’s productions include the Apple TV+ documentaries Braveand functional documents In the shadow of BeirutAnd In her hands – the latter film released by Netflix.

Excellent Cadaver produced the upcoming documentary Bread & Roses“a definitive account of the lives of Afghan women after the country’s fall to the Taliban,” directed by Afghan filmmaker Sahra Mani and produced by Jennifer Lawrence and Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai. The film will be released in theaters on November 22nd in New York, Los Angeles and select other cities before premiering worldwide on Apple TV+.

Excellent Cadaver will produce an adaptation by Ariana Harwicz Die, my love. Also written on his slate The wivesa crime thriller with Lawrence in the lead role, and Why don’t you love me?an adaptation of Paul B. Rainey’s 2023 science fiction comedy graphic novel. Excellent first film from Cadaver, dam“The Movie,” starring Lawrence and Brian Tyree Henry, earned Henry a 2023 Oscar nomination in the Best Supporting Actor category.