Described by director Gretchen Stoeltje as “both a cautionary tale and a rallying cry,” “Shouting Down Midnight” highlights some of the brave women in Texas who have fought for reproductive rights and access to health care. The documentary is currently screening at SXSW, and revisits Texas State Senator Wendy Davis’ iconic 2013 filibuster against anti-abortion legislation.

In an exclusive clip from the film, we hear from Sadie Hernandez, an activist who was inspired by Davis and made headlines for leading a daily protest in front of the Governor of Texas’ mansion. Hernandez is from Brownsville, Texas. “We are low-income, we’re Brown, and we’re disproportionately impacted by these anti-choice laws,” the community organizer says. She explains that someone from Brownsville would need to drive upwards of an hour-and-a-half to get to a clinic offering abortions — and that’s assuming that they have access to transportation. Undocumented women and those with low incomes face even more barriers.

Hernandez speaks to Davis’ impact on her, and her realization that “you can’t be silent.”

The interview with Hernandez was shot in 2015, and since then the situation in Texas has further deteriorated. In 2021, the state enacted a new abortion restriction that limits health care providers’ ability to provide abortion care “beyond about [six] weeks of pregnancy, and sometimes even earlier,” per Planned Parenthood. 

Asked what she’d like people to think about after watching the film, Stoeltje told us, “I hope that people think about how ordinary citizens can have a meaningful role in policymaking, dull and opaque as it can sometimes be. I hope they reflect on the power of being connected, the revolutionary acts of standing up for and caring for oneself and for others, and where they might contribute to change in their own communities.”

“Shouting Down Midnight’s” final screening at SXSW takes place tomorrow, March 17.