Lady Dynamo: The Untold Story of Anna Rosenberg
Lady Dynamo: The Untold Story of Anna Rosenberg brings to light the remarkable accomplishments of a Jewish immigrant who transcended the male-dominated power structures of mid-20th-century America. The film follows the story of Anna Rosenberg from her scrappy beginning as a labor mediator in New York City to her prominent role as a trusted advisor to Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman, and ultimately Assistant Secretary of Defense in 1951. This documentary explores Rosenberg’s remarkable contributions—integrating the defense industry during WWII, desegregating the U.S. military, and shaping the landmark G.I. Bill—all while navigating the intense challenges of sexism, antisemitism, and McCarthyism.
But how did a woman once hailed by LIFE magazine as “Far and away the most important woman in the American government,” disappear from the history books? Lady Dynamo also tells the story of Rosenberg’s rediscovery by a high school history teacher who unearthed her forgotten legacy and set out to bring her story to light.
Rich with archival footage and insightful historical interviews, Lady Dynamo not only revisits the extraordinary contributions of Anna Rosenberg, but challenges viewers to reflect upon the consequences of losing the legacies of such trailblazing women.
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Gail N AblowDirector
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Peter L BullDirector
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Gail N AblowProducer
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Peter L BullProducer
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Project Type:Documentary
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:No
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Student Project:No
Gail Ablow, Co-Director / Producer:
Gail is a writer, director, and producer with a long history of producing documentaries, long-form television, and multimedia. Her short documentary, American Beat: Cops and Refugees Join Forces in Boise, was featured in the Justice Film Festival and broadcast on PBS World in 2018. It won a 2018 NW Regional Emmy. She helped launch the PBS series, Family Pictures USA in 2019. For many years Gail was a staff writer, long-form, and documentary producer for Bill Moyers, earning 3 Emmy nominations for On Our Own Terms: Moyers on Dying in America, LBJ’s Path to War, and an interview with Rep. Henry Waxman. At ABC News, her documentary work was recognized with a Cine Golden Eagle Award for The Century: America’s Time, Shell Shock, and, working with director Peter Bull, an Edward R. Murrow Award for Turning Point: When Children Accuse, Who to Believe? Gail earned her master’s degree from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism and her undergraduate degree from Harvard College. She was a John S. Knight Fellow at Stanford University, and a Carnegie Visiting Media Fellow.
Peter Bull, Co-Director / Producer:
Peter is a documentary filmmaker and a four-time Emmy-winning writer/producer/director of documentaries for public, network and cable television. He helped launch the PBS weekly public affairs program NOW with Bill Moyers as senior producer, a role he also played on the CBS series Whistleblower and on the prizewinning ABC News series, Hopkins 24/7. Over a long career, he has specialized in producing and directing compelling nonfiction environmental, historical, and political narratives. He wrote and directed a 90-minute feature documentary film, Dirty Business: ‘Clean Coal’ and the Battle for Our Energy Future in collaboration with the Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR), which premiered at the Full Frame documentary festival. Also, in collaboration with CIR, he wrote and produced Hot Politics for the PBS series Frontline, about the politics of climate change. Other credits include directing Earth, episode four of the Netflix series Cooked with author Michael Pollan, and he wrote and produced Redefining War, the concluding hour of the PBS series Women, War & Peace. Peter earned his MFA at U.C. San Diego and his BA at Yale. In addition to his four News & Documentary Emmys, he earned DuPont/Columbia, Edward R. Murrow, Overseas Press Club, Cine Golden Eagle, and Christopher Awards, among others.