Beyond Boundaries : The Janes

The Janes (2021)

Directed by: Tia Lessin and Emma Pildes

In the spring of 1972, police raided an apartment on the south side of Chicago.  Seven women were arrested and charged.  The accused were part of a clandestine network.  Using code names, blindfolds, and safe houses to protect their identities and their work, they build an underground service for women seeking safe, affordable, illegal abortions.  They called themselves Jane.   Facing off against the mafia, the church and the state, the Janes exhibited unparalleled bravery and compassion for those most in need.

Co-directors and Sundance Film Festival alumni Tia Lessin and Emma Pildes unearth this incredibly timely story to demonstrate how the fight for safe and legal abortions was, and continues to be, an uncertain and perilous undertaking.  Electrifying archival footage of Chicago in the late 60s and early 70s, coupled with affectingly honest interviews with the Janes themselves, brings to life the city and its sprit of revolution in that historic moment.

Trailer : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRbquE2BAkQ

Beyond Boundaries Screening & Discussion Series is a distinctive program at Buffalo State that has been running since 2014.  This annual, six-part film series is organized around categories of diversity including, but not limited to race, gender, class, sexuality, and abilities, with an emphasis on intersectionality.  It creates an opportunity for open dialogue on social justice issues among college students, staff, faculty and members of the greater Western New York community. 

Beyond Boundaries is sponsored by the Office of Equity and Campus Diversity, the Communication Department, and the Burchfield Penney Art Center.  All screenings are held in Burchfield Penney Art Center and are free and open to the public.

The series is curated by Professors Ruth Goldman and Meg Knowles