"As heart stopping as any experience of our own, this fine and moving documentary reminds all who see it that life stories, not statistics, contain the truth."
-Gloria Steinem

Leona's Sister Gerri tells the dramatic story of Gerri Santoro, a mother of two and the "real person" in the now famous photo of an anonymous woman on a motel floor, dead from an illegal abortion. Reprinted thousands of times on placards, and in the media, this grisly photo became a pro-choice icon.

Should the media have used this image? What circumstances led to Gerri's tragic death? Powerfully addressing issues of reproductive rights and domestic violence, this video is a moving portrait of Gerri Santoro's life and society's response to her death.


by Jane Gillooly

Appropriate for:
College/University
57 minutes - VHS - Closed Captioned
57 minutes - DVD - Closed Captioned

REVIEWS

"We knew the corpse, naked and abject, but we never knew the story, or we didn't until "Leona's Sister Gerri", Jane Gillooly's searingly effective study of an infamous photograph and how it came into being. Patiently piecing together the facts behind this wrenching image, Ms Gillooly brings a wide breadth of understanding to the tragedy she uncovers. "Forcefull, intimate, unpretentious and devastating."
New York Times, Janet Maslin

"Truly remarkable"
New York Magazine, John Leonard

"A thoughtful, dignified and intensely moving documentary."
The Nation

Transfixing tale of an unwilling symbol. Without taking sides in the abortion debate "Leona's Sister Gerri" is a straightforward, tragic biography of one of the women behind the statistics."
Los Angeles Times, Howard Rosenberg

"Leona's Sister Gerri makes what might have been an effective abortion rights polemic into something greater".
Boston Globe, Frederick M. Biddle

"Unusually thoughtful and thought provoking. The film is a superb documentary layered with stories and emotions."
Philadelphia Inquirer, Jonathan Storm

"Fleshing out the life behind a now iconic image (the film) makes the political personal, the abstract particular and in so doing uncover layers of humanity often missing in political rhetoric."
Boston Globe Magazine, Madeline Drexler

"Provocative and intelligent inquiry into the life of Gerri Santoro".
Miami Herald, Robin Dougherty

"Puts a human face and dimension on this symbol of lonesome tragedy. It's a messy tale, grim and common, told with uncommon restraint."
USA Today, Matt Rush

"This film should be seen by everyone-on any side-involved in the debate about abortion...A wonderful contribution to the discussion of reproductive rights."
Andrea S. Walsh
Women's Studies, Harvard University


Leona's Sister Gerri is a riveting documentary for all adults, no matter what their stance on abortion. It begins with a shocking photograph that many will have seen before of a naked woman lying face down in a pool of blood on a motel room floor. She died in 1964 after a botched abortion administered by her lover, nine years before Roe v. Wade. The woman's family did not see this police photo until it appeared in the April 1973 issue of Ms. magazine-unidentified, the photo was captioned simply "Never Again." Here, we learn in heartbreaking detail who Gerri Santoro was-pretty, plump, a loyal friend, a fiercely protective mother of two daughters, and a terrified wife of an abusive man whose imminent arrival after separation drove her to desperate measures. Thirty years later, grief still overwhelms her sister, daughters, and friends. Initially angry at the publication of the brutal photo, Gerri's sister Leona was finally compelled to appear at a prochoice rally holding an enlargement labeled "This was my sister." Skillfully and sensitively produced, this video puts a human face on a highly politicized issue.
Pamela Kress, Loras College
Library Journal


Leona's Sister Gerri, tells the story of one woman, Gerri Santoro, a woman who would become a symbol for the burgeoning abortion rights movement during the late 1960s. Found dead on a motel room floor, the victim of a botched abortion attempt, Gerri Santoro was photographed by the police-bloodied towel in hand, naked and slumped forward on her hands and knees. That haunting, stark picture later found its way into an influential article in Ms. and was plastered on placards in pro-choice rallies across the U.S. Filmmaker Jane Gillooly draws on interviews with Santoro's sister Leona Gordon, Santoro's adult daughters, other friends and relatives, and women's rights activists to deliver a powerful biography of a woman driven to a desperate act in a society that offered no alternatives. In Santoro's complicated situation (unbeknownst to her estranged and physically abusive husband, Gerri was pregnant by another man; suddenly her husband wrote to say he'd be returning home), tragedy would have been the result either way she chose, unless she'd had the alternative of a safe abortion. A powerful piece of filmmaking that places a human face on a continually divisive issue. Highly recommended.
R. Pitman
Video Librarian


In 1964, 27-year-old Gerri Santoro died alone in a Connecticut motel room, the victim of a botched abortion. With help from family photographs and home movies, Santoro's older sister, Leona, recalls her sister's life and the circumstances that led to the abortion. Santoro's brother, grown daughters, and childhood friend also reflect on Gerri's foolhardy decision to allow her unskilled, nonmedical boyfriend to attempt the crude abortion. Footage of Leona slowly flipping through old photographs or reading a letter from the victim's abusive, estranged husband further personalize this tragedy as does a symbolic photograph of Santoro lying dead in a crouched position. Other dramatic production techniques include slow camera pans of the motel where the abortion took place and interviews with former motel employees and journalists. This searingly provocative portrait paints the victim as a caring, hardworking mother who took drastic measures to end an unwanted pregnancy. Although the underlying message is pro-choice, this compelling documentary is sure to touch all audiences of all persuasions.
* Outstanding
Sue-Ellen Beauregard
Booklist



PURCHASE OR RENT

57 min./ VHS
Institutions (Colleges/Universities) $250
Community Groups/ Public Libraries/ High Schools $79
Rental $80
57 min./ DVD
Institutions (Colleges/Universities) $250
Community Groups/ Public Libraries/ High Schools $79
Rental $80


SPECIAL OFFER

VHS OWNERSHIP DISCOUNT - If you already own the VHS, you can have the expanded DVD version for just $199. Simply type VHS OWNERSHIP DISCOUNT into the "special instructions" field in the last page of the online order form and the discount will be manually applied.



AWARDS / SCREENINGS

PBS Television Network
* P.O.V. Series

EMMA Award
* "Best Television Documentary"

National Women's Political Caucus Museum of Modern Art,

Museum of Modern Art, NYC
* "New Directors, New Films"

Booklist
* Editor's Choice

National Educational Film & Video Festival
* Bronze Apple

Chicago International Film Festival
* Silver Hugo