History Told by the Survivors

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MOVIE REVIEW
The Other Roe
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Genre: Documentary, History, Social Justice, Short
Year Released: 2026
Runtime: 16m
Director(s): Wendy Eley Jackson
Where to Watch: shown at the 2026 Santa Barbara International Film Festival

RAVING REVIEW: Who decides which victories are remembered and which are quietly buried? THE OTHER ROE builds its entire purpose around that question, then answers it with precision, restraint, and clarity. In just sixteen minutes, the film accomplishes what many feature-length documentaries struggle to do: it reframes a foundational moment in American history without grandstanding, and it restores credit where it has been systematically withheld.

Directed by Wendy Eley Jackson, THE OTHER ROE is not a broad overview of reproductive rights, nor does it attempt to re-litigate Roe v. Wade itself. Instead, it zeroes in on Doe v. Bolton, the companion Supreme Court case argued the same day as Roe, and exposes how its legal significance has been deliberately sidelined in public memory. The film makes a compelling case that while Roe became the symbol, Doe became the substance, shaping access, medical interpretation, and real-world implementation for decades.

At the center of this reclamation is Margie Pitts Hames, a civil rights attorney whose work fundamentally expanded reproductive healthcare in the United States. Jackson’s film treats Hames not as a historical footnote, but as the central architect she always was. Through archival material, testimony, and reflection, THE OTHER ROE reconstructs the legal and personal cost of fighting for bodily autonomy at a time when such advocacy came with professional and social consequences.

What distinguishes the film is its refusal to sensationalize. There is no urgency manufactured through editing tricks or overwrought scoring. Instead, the film trusts its subject matter and its audience. The power comes from clarity. By explaining precisely what Doe v. Bolton established, particularly the definition of medical necessity and the authority granted to healthcare providers, the film exposes how incomplete most mainstream discussions of Roe have always been. This isn’t supplemental history. It is foundational history that was pushed aside because it complicated the narrative.

Jackson’s direction is measured and deliberate. Every choice serves the film’s thesis about erasure. The pacing is tight without feeling rushed, and the structure mirrors the legal argument itself, methodical, evidence-driven, and impossible to dismiss once articulated. The film understands that outrage is earned through understanding, not volume.

The inclusion of Donia Hames Robinson and Ann Rose provides an essential human balance to the legal framework. Their presence grounds the film in lived consequence, reminding viewers that legal victories are carried by people long after the headlines fade. These voices don’t drift into sentimentality. Instead, they reinforce the film’s argument that recognition matters, not as vanity, but as protection against historical revision.

Eric Huang’s score underscores the material without dictating emotion. It remains restrained, allowing silence and testimony to carry weight. Marcello Frisina’s animation work is similarly purposeful, used sparingly to bridge gaps in archival material rather than embellish the narrative. These choices reflect a film confident enough not to decorate its message.

One of the film’s most striking achievements is its contemporary feel without relying on current events as shorthand. While the shadow of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization is unavoidable, the film resists becoming reactive. Instead, it positions itself as corrective, arguing that today’s fragmentation of reproductive rights isn’t a sudden rupture, but the result of decades of selective memory. By restoring Doe v. Bolton to its rightful place, the film reframes the present as a continuation of unresolved battles rather than a new crisis.

What makes THE OTHER ROE resonate most is its insistence that history isn’t neutral. The film challenges viewers to recognize that what is remembered is often shaped by comfort, simplicity, and convenience. By centering a woman whose contributions complicate the dominant story, the film exposes how progress is usually built on invisibility and how that invisibility is weaponized over time.

This isn’t a documentary that asks to be admired. It asks to be integrated. Its success lies in how seamlessly it rewires understanding without the transformation. By the time the film concludes, the absence it addresses no longer feels academic. It feels intentional, and once seen, impossible to ignore.

As a documentary short, THE OTHER ROE operates with exceptional discipline and purpose. It doesn’t waste a frame, a sentence, or a moment. More importantly, it restores dignity to a legal and personal legacy that deserved recognition long before now. In doing so, it demonstrates how documentary filmmaking can function not just as a record but as a form of repair. The film is incisive, necessary, and sharply constructed, even if its brevity limits the depth it could explore in a longer form.

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[photo courtesy of AUBURN AVENUE FILMS]

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