Under the Gun
Description
The latest from director Stephanie Soechtig (Fed Up, SFIFF 2014) is a breathless and revelatory ride into the heart of the American gun debate. With the conviction and sure cinematic hand that have become the filmmaker’s trademark, Under the Gun marshals damning statistics and gripping testimonies—including profiles of several bereft parents-turned-activists from Newtown, Santa Barbara, and Aurora—to expose the machinations of a powerful, highly profitable industry and its warping influence on our government. Of course, government (and especially Congressional) inertia is a direct result of the lobbying might of the formidable National Rifle Association, which Soechtig traces from a humble post-bellum civic association to a political powerhouse. Under the Gun—executive produced and narrated by Katie Couric—breaks the issue of gun violence from its numbingly predictable news cycle and takes an intimate look at the personal impact of this country’s runaway epidemic, complete with a growing grassroots uprising. —Robert Avila
Biographies
After graduating from New York University with a degree in broadcast journalism, Stephanie Soechtig went to work as a producer for network news shows like Primetime Live and 20/20 as well as the Fox News talk show The O’Reilly Factor. In 2008, she co-founded the Atlas Films production house “with the goal of creating films that educate and inspire.” Her directorial debut documentary, Tapped (2009), is an award-winning investigation into the environmental and health impacts of the bottled water industry. She followed this with an acclaimed exploration of the links between the sugar industry and the rise in obesity, Fed Up (SFIFF 2014). Soechtig has also made political campaign commercials and viral videos for nonprofit groups such as Food and Water Watch and Environmental Working Group. Under the Gun is her third documentary feature.