In the fall of 2009, Lindsay Ellis, a 26-year old graduate student, went through the painful process of having an abortion. “The A-Word” follows Ellis as she opens up to her family and organizations from both sides of the debate, in search of healing. This is not a film about the protests and debates wrapped up in religious views and political agenda, but rather a personal journey about one woman’s struggle to shed the stigma attached to the A-word in hopes of starting a dialogue.

In the fall of 2009, Lindsay Ellis, a 26-year old graduate student, went through the painful process of having an abortion. “The A-Word” follows Ellis as she opens up to her family and organizations from both sides of the debate, in search of healing. This is not a film about the protests and debates wrapped up in religious views and political agenda, but rather a personal journey about one woman’s struggle to shed the stigma attached to the A-word in hopes of starting a dialogue.

This is a short documentary that aims to explore the gamut of emotions that both women and men go through after abortions in America, and how the current political atmosphere affects them. The objective of this film is not to put a moral label on abortion, “right” or “wrong”, but open a dialogue. We intend to focus on the experiences, the reasons behind people's silence on the personal aspects of the subject, and explore how people integrate the experience into their lives. Our film focuses particularly on the director trying to reconcile the complex and intense emotions following her abortion, as well as the idea that it's impossible to understand how you would react in that situation until you find yourself in it.

The reasons the Beatles broke up are extremely well documented and even at the height of their animosity none of the band ever blamed Yoko Ono for it - so why is this still a thing?

The reasons the Beatles broke up are extremely well documented and even at the height of their animosity none of the band ever blamed Yoko Ono for it - so why is this still a thing?

What begins as an impassioned defense of empathy in children's programming takes Lindsay Ellis down a rabbit-hole to the likes of Ben Shapiro, Fred Rogers, and King Solomon, while finally leading us to a place of devastation and anger at the state of the world.