The world has always been a scary place for women to merely exist, but with changing times comes even more dread. When the landmark case Roe vs. Wade was overturned in 2022, access to fundamental healthcare became even more dangerous. Tracy Droz Tragos' documentary Plan C follows a group of “rebellious civilians” trying to provide alternative ways of helping in what can often be a life-or-death situation. FILMHOUNDS sat down with Tragos to find out more about her journey.
So this is your second time at Sundance. Does it feel any different this time around?
You know, it's funny — my husband was driving me here “You're a lot more organised this time!” So I guess I have some new experience that I brought where I'm a little more organised. But it's still as thrilling. Every movie feels like a whole new undertaking, like you've never made a film before… at least I feel that way sharing it with the world or sharing it with that audience. Yesterday (Plan C's premiere) was nerve-racking. I was as nervous as you know. What I feel very strongly about with this film that's different from Rich Hill is that we have a real clear urgency to get the film out there. And there's a really clear call to action with this film. So it's different in that there's a whole movement that this film covers that tapped into seizing the moment. There was a billboard truck that they had outside our screening and an ice sculpture of a gigantic abortion pill. There's buttons and there are stickers, there's a whole crew that's out there spreading the word with this.
Speaking of urgency, how long has the documentary been in motion — how do you plan a timeframe for something that's so ever-changing?
I think someone said: “So when were you greenlit?” and I was like, nobody greenlit this. It started slowly and not with a plan of where I would end up. It started in 2018 when Kavanaugh was appointed to the Supreme Court. I wanted to understand what people were doing to prepare for Roe being overturned. I mean, it still wasn't clear that that would happen, but his appointment seemed like we were one step closer to that eventuality. I met Francine who at the time seemed like a disrupter with this big idea, but this big idea that maybe would never come to pass — online provisioning of abortion medication and people being able to receive the pills in their homes discreetly. I understood why that was safe and why that was a good idea. But I didn't think that that was actually something that she'd get much support around. I was certainly intrigued. And then when COVID happened, she was able to enlist folks here in the United States to mail and do just that. And so that was clear to me I wanted to cover what was happening. But still, I didn't know all that would happen, that RBG would die and that Roe vs. Wade would be overturned.
What surprised me watching it is how much grassroots action was changed by the pandemic. I think when you're away from it like we are, when you're not really living it, it's really easy to forget all of that. What did the pandemic look like for you — and how do you create this level of trust in getting people to tell you their stories?
Well, there was some trust because I had made a previous film about abortion. There was some understanding and appreciation of that film and where I was coming at it from. I didn't know that it would become such a political film. I wanted to cover these providers who were doing this new model of care, but I had no idea that it would grow in the way that it would grow. Or that it would also become potentially so criminalised in the way it is now. I think the trust was built in before a lot of this happened. They knew me and knew that I didn't want to jeopardise their work. So there was a lot that I could not include in this film because the work is ongoing. I didn't want to share details that would, you know, put them in harm's way.
Do you have to consciously separate yourself and your own feelings and your own anger — even in the first five minutes of watching Plan C, I remember those feelings when all of the news about Roe vs. Wade broke just came straight back to the surface — or does one feed into the other for you?
I don't think that documentaries are ever completely objective. It is a subjective medium. This movie wasn't going to be about sides or whether abortion right or wrong. It was going to be about the work and the need, and that ultimately abortion is a human right that we need to protect. If our lawmakers are going to fail us, we're not gonna fail each other. Let's get advanced provisions, let's have these pills in the medicine cabinet. This is a human rights issue, I'm not going to pretend that it's not.
One of the things that I was wondering as I was watching it is when — I mean the only thing I can really compare it to is what we have over here — I think one of our continuing problems is to get the public to take grassroots organisations seriously. Did you feel that as well?
I know that there were people that Francine reached out to who felt for whatever reason that they could not take the risk of being a part of that movement and that network. The movement building is hard. It's hard when people are censored. It's hard when people are afraid. A lot of these laws have a chilling effect, and it's meant to just keep people silent. I hope in a way this film has an answerback, and then again amplifies but doesn't hurt the work. It's certainly Francine's approach that being loud about it and standing up will then eventually have this sort of amplification and momentum that can't be stopped. Not everyone is able to be loud and out there about it, but I think it's going to take all lanes. It's going to take people doing what they can.
There's such a great line that somebody says quite early on in a documentary, which is that “Chaos brings opportunity.” That really stuck out to me. Do you think we're in a position now where that can continue to be the case?
Absolutely. I mean, we're in a very chaotic time. And if you really break it down in terms of what people are afraid of about what might happen — are there going to be police officers at people's mailboxes? Is this something that really can be stopped? Realistically, I don't think it can be stopped. I don't think this is the thing that is stoppable. Partly, we can't roll back you know, to pre-internet times, which is I'm sure where some lawmakers would like us to be. It's all about marriage is between a man and a woman and so on, but this is the 21st century. So, I think a lot of this work really can't be stopped. And it's unrealistic to think that it can. So there is really an opportunity just being where we are in the world.
Is there anything that took you completely by surprise while making this?
I think what was the most sobering was how quickly the lawmakers took advantage of things. Whether it was appointing Amy Conan Barrett within days of the election after RBG died. Once the leak happened, states here within days took advantage to outlaw abortion, going to Oklahoma, and just seeing the impact of that. That's some of the saddest material I've ever filmed. The fact that these clinic workers were there and they were able to provide care and they had all the tools and means but the waiting room was dark. People would call desperate for care. Again, this is a public health emergency and yet they couldn't provide care, it was outlawed. So not so much surprised, but motivated to finish this film and get it out in the world so that people would know they have options when clinics are closed.
Best case scenario, what do you hope happens from here?
I hope first of all that this film will be seen beyond Sundance. The hope is that we'll find partners to bring it into the world so that audiences can see it. And certainly within the United States the direct impact of knowing the power of coming together and conscientious objection and the people having power. Knowing specifically that you have options because of these people who have come together. You have power yourself in what you can do when these unjust laws come down. So that's what I hope people take away.
Plan C premiered as part of Sundance Film Festival's Premieres strand.
