SXSW Review: ‘Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down’: Inspiring Docu Of Heroic Congresswoman Fighting For Gun Control After Near Fatal Shooting
Having its premiere today at SXSW, this CNN Films theatrical documentary Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down is a truly inspirational offering an almost verite kind of fly-on-the-wall account of what can only be termed as a comeback story like no other. In 2011 Giffords, an Arizona congresswoman and rising star in the Democratic party had the wind at her back with talk of possibly a Senate or Governor run in the future, even maybe a Presidential one. She was married to astronaut Mark Kelly, and was even looking at adding a new addtion to their family which included his two daughters from a previous marriage. Then it all came crashing down when at a campaign event, she and several others attending were felled by a gunman run amok. Several died that day including a 12 year old girl who was interested in civic studies and tagged along to the rally. Giffords herself took a single bullet to the head and was actually reported by media as having died. That report was erroneous and in fact doctors told Kelly that she likely would survive, but in what condition they couldn’t say.