Our Story

rePRO was born in 2020, when four passionate women (Jill Lafer, Mallory Martin, Lela Meadow- Conner & Debby Samples) came together virtually, to create a film event dedicated to women’s reproductive healthcare.

Spanning three states, possessing a combined experience of 30+ years in the film festival industry and reproductive rights movement, and with a founding grant from the Dr. George Tiller Memorial Fund for the Advancement of Women’s Health, our pandemic project came to fruition in 8 short weeks.

Energized by the forthcoming historic election in 2020, the team gathered 25 mission-aligned films and more than 50 advocates to present a five day celebration of women’s reproductive rights through the medium of film. All of the box office proceeds were donated to five organizations we designated as our beneficiary organizations. Special guests included actor/activists Martha Plimpton, Ariana DeBose and Amber Tamblyn. rePRO 2020 was enjoyed by audiences across 29 states.

As 2020 faded into 2021, virtual became the new normal, eyeballs became weary and science began to give us a glimmer of hope; the team opted for a “less is more” approach. Over the course of two weekends in August, we presented 15 films, 100% directed by female- identifying and 67% directed by BIPOC or AAPI filmmakers. We presented six impactful Call-to-Action conversations and our special guests included the Tony-nominated Laura Bell Bundy, Jonelle Procope, CEO of the Apollo Theater Foundation and Alexis McGill-Johnson, CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. rePRO 2021 was enjoyed by audiences across 35 cities.

And then we were hit with the crushing SB8. As our reproductive freedoms become increasingly endangered – we instinctively knew that our work connecting advocacy and art as a means of advancing the conversation around reproductive health and justice should become a year-round program.

As the world around us continues to evolve, rePRO does too…we hope you will join us!