Oscar-Nominated Abortion Short ‘Red, White and Blue’ Sets Nationwide Celebrity Screenings Ahead of Election

"Red, White and Blue" – an Academy Award nominated short film dealing with emergency access to abortions — will roll out a series of celebrity-hosted screenings across the country to raise the issue before November's presidential election.

Directed by Nazrin Choudhury and starring Brittany Snow , the project has been praised as "a film for right now, and we need it to be seen urgently by as many people as possible," according to Jane Fonda, who sits on the host committee of a forthcoming screening. The rollout is spearheaded by Adrienne Becker's Level Forward, and benefits numerous reproductive rights organizations.

Snow plays a single mom working as a waitress in Arkansas, one who urgently seeks an abortion but must flee across state lines. Traveling to Illinois with her preteen daughter, Snow's character shows us that the procedure's purpose and emotional fallout are far from what they seem. Choudhury wrote the script in the aftermath of the Supreme Court's 2022 decision to reverse healthcare provisions given under Roe v. Wade, in order to "open hearts and minds to a shared common humanity that often gets lost in political discourse," a statement said. The film competed for the best short film Oscar this year.

On Sept. 18, the WGA theater in Los Angeles will screen the 23-minute film with Fonda, Lorraine Bracco , Laverne Cox, Chrissy Teigen and Octavia Spencer as hosts. Bracco will appear in person for a post-screening conversation with journalist Jessica Yellin. The same day in New York, Urban Zen will show the film with host committee Lise Evans, Carola Jain, Donna Karan, Beth Kojima, Crystal McGuire and Lizzie Tisch. Both events will raise cash for the movie's Purple Parlor Fund, which was established to bring additional screenings in swing states before the showdown at the polls between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.

The release strategy was developed in part by Level Forward's Impact Advisory Group – an organization that includes Reverend Robert Schenck, an architect of the swing state screenings, and LaTosha Brown, co-founder of Black Voters Matter. "Red, White and Blue" co-executive producers Julie Kamins, Lauri Firstenberg, and Barbara Bridges have also contributed to the film and its campaign, along with the Stardust Foundation and Lowell and Diane Wightman.

"While the film is only 23 minutes long, these are 23 minutes you will never forget," said Bracco. "Reproductive rights and justice in America remain fraught with tension, though 'Red, White and Blue'has displayed the ability to transcend these difficulties, and thus we strive to bring this film to the widest audience possible."