Sundance 2025: Prime Minister Shoots Straight From the Hip

How many times have you had a goal only to achieve something completely different than those who have come before you?  As the third woman elected as prime minister of New Zealand, for five years Jacinda Ardern redefined leadership on the world stage.  Her outlook is summarized by a quote from her childhood hero, Sir  Shackleton: “Optimism is true moral courage.” She tackled her leadership with humanity, compassion, and common sense.  One Hundred years ago, Sir Ernest Schackleton’s ship Endurance became hopelessly trapped in ice. Though extraordinary hardships lasted almost more than two years, he ensured the survival of all 27 crewmen.

Directed by Michelle Walshe and LIndsay Utz, Prime Minister crafts an intimate portrait of her historic journey, featuring footage shot by her husband and never before heard audio interviews while she implemented nationwide gun law reforms, historic abortion laws (in favor of women having contol over their own bodies) and guided her country through the pandemic by relying on science — even at the expense of her own popularity. As only the second head of state in the world to give birth while in office, she was relentlessly challenged to prove her competence as a leader, which is why stepping down earlier than expected was an act of confidence, not a sign of defeat.

Ardern’s hope, humanity and love for mankind is a magnificent example of how every leader should lead including the ones currently in charge of handling what our Star Spangled Banner anthem calls the so-called land of the free. Saying that turning on the news to witness rapid tech development, climate change and thinking the world is a dumpster fire is a mild understatement given our current global political climate.

However, what Walsh and Lindsay accomplished proving what women globally have known all along is that we get it done while leaving all of us no longer pondering what Benjamin Franklin meant when he stated, ” A republic is yours if you can keep it.”