Ratified

The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was introduced as a U.S. constitutional amendment in 1924, an era when women had few legal rights and were often considered subordinate to their husbands. It was not passed out of congress. A full century later, in spite of broad support and a massive campaign in the 1970's, legal equality for all genders has still not been officially added to the Constitution. Despite some strides, disparities remain in pay, healthcare, and legal protections. The ERA would embed protection from gender-based discrimination and enshrine bodily autonomy in the Constitution.

Ratified chronicles the campaign to make Virginia the 38th state to ratify the amendment, which is the number of states required to have an amendment added to the Constitution after Congressional approval. This political battle reveals racial and economic divisions, along with the ways women’s rights have been used as political leverage. Black women have often been overlooked in legal discussions since the creation of the Constitution, yet efforts led by Black women beginning in 2017 helped reignite momentum for the ERA’s passage after the fight stalled in the early 1980s. With the support of a multi-racial, multi-generational collective of activists, an intersectional movement for gender equality emerged.

The film follows organizing efforts as a cross-party coalition confronts entrenched political power. Virginia Senator Jennifer McClellan and Delegate Jennifer Carroll Foy push through legislative barriers, along with a grassroots team led by Republican-turned-organizer Kati Hornung. Their efforts mark the continuum of a 101-year fight. Ratified is a look at the perseverance of organizers and the legal system's resistance to fully guaranteeing gender equality.

“Ratified is many things in its relatively short running time: a valuable historical primer that should serve as a teaching tool; a look at in-the-trenches grassroots political activism at work; and a shout out to the courageous and determined women, particularly Black women, who walk the talk, then and now. It’s everything an issue-oriented, social justice film should be — and, by the way, it’s supremely entertaining and inspiring." -Loren King, Alliance of Women Film Journalists

Sabaah  combines nuance and optimism with cultural relevance to tell stories that inform, uplift, and engage audiences. She made her directorial debut at the Sundance film festival, with the feature length documentary Whose Streets? The film was supported by Ford, MacArthur and other foundations, and nominated for Peabody, Critic’s Choice, Gotham and NAACP Image awards, as well as festival honors worldwide. Whose Streets? chronicles the experiences of activists living in Ferguson, Missouri when Michael Brown Jr. was killed. RATIFIED, the third feature documentary helmed by Sabaah, alongside co-director Deborah Riley Draper, covers the hundred year fight to enshrine gender equality in the constitution, and premiered at Bronzelens film festival in 2024. Sabaah was born in Los Angeles and raised in Hawaii. in 2013, she received her bachelor’s in biology as pre-medical student. The desire to do healing work at a collective scale evolved into a unique storytelling practice that is informed by principles of behavioral science and social justice.