Addie Morfoot ContributorAt this year’s South by Southwest Film Festival, three documentaries – Camille Hardman and Gary Lane’s “Still Working 9 to 5,” Julie Cohen and Betsy West’s “Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down” and Ron Howard’s “We Feed People” – use a celebrity lens to take a deep dive into hot button political issues.Hardman’s “Still Working 9 to 5” explores the origins and success of the 1980 film “9 to 5,” which addresses gender inequality and discrimination in the workplace and stars Jane Fonda, Dolly Parton, Lily Tomlin and Dabney Coleman.

All four stars appear in the docu to discuss the iconic comedy. Rita Moreno, who starred in the “9 to 5” television series, Allison Janney from the “9 to 5” Broadway show, and women’s movement activists also appear in the doc to discuss the movie and why gender parity in the workplace is still an issue forty-plus years after the release of “9 to 5.” “I would categorize ‘Still Working 9 to 5’ as a political doc,” says Hardman. “But I think there’s a very fine line of keeping audiences engaged and allowing for a little bit of education without the film becoming too dogmatic, didactic, and feminist.

We wanted to stick with the same philosophy of the original film, which is fun and has comedic elements because if you can educate someone through humor, it stays with people and they don’t walk away going, ‘Oh my God, I’ve just been beaten over the head.’”Lane adds that, “We would feel like we accomplished something if we finally gave [‘9 to 5’] fans a sequel and if the [doc] helped women finally see the Equal Rights Amendment become a part of the Constitution.”Cohen and West’s “Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down” grapples with the Constitution’s Second Amendment.

From ‘9 to 5’ to José Andrés, SXSW Documentaries Tackle Urgent Issues Through Well-Known Names

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