“Bella!” is the latest film from Director Jeff L. Lieberman (The Amazing Nina Simone, Re-Emerging: The Jews of Nigeria) and re-introduces viewers to the remarkable, under-told story of Congresswoman Bella Abzug (1920-1998) – the frank, no-holds barred activist who transformed from an outside agitator to an influential member of Congress.

Representing New York’s West Village and surrounding neighborhoods, Bella became more than a New York figure, but that of a national symbol of a woman fighting for equality in a largely, white, male boys’ club. One of only 12 women (out of 435 members) to enter Congress in 1971, Bella became even more recognizable by her trademark hat, charismatic wit, Bronx swagger and her ability to reach across the aisle. Through her years in Congress, she passed legislation granting women the right to have credit cards in their own name, introduced curb cuts for the disabled, transformed federal highway dollars into mass transportation funding - all while regularly standing on the Capitol Steps demanding the end of the Vietnam War and calling for Richard Nixon‘s impeachment.

She would go on to become the first woman to run for the Senate from New York, and the first woman to run for mayor of New York City. But most will remember Bella for her collaborative work with several other notable women: Gloria Steinem, Shirley Chisholm, Betty Friedan. As the leaders of the second wave feminist movement, they shook society into realizing that half of the country’s population was still significantly unrepresented in all matters of life. Decades before Kamala Harris, Nancy Pelosi and AOC, there was Bella.