Synopsis

Geraldine Ferraro: Paving the Way is  a feature-length documentary about the life of the trailblazing woman who made history in 1984 as the first female Vice Presidential nominee on a major national party Presidential ticket.

The film profiles Ferraro’s journey from an impoverished childhood, the struggles she endured while growing up, and the hurdles she faced and overcame both professionally and personally in order to achieve what no woman had done before.

A primary focus of the film is Ferraro’s public service and political career, from District Attorney in Queens, NY, and later member of Congress, to the emotional night
of her Vice Presidential nomination and the tough campaign that followed.  Though the Mondale-Ferraro ticket was ultimately not elected, the film explores how Ferraro’s nomination and her conduct during that campaign changed the national perception of what was possible for women.

The film features never-before-seen archival footage and stills, intimate interviews with Ferraro, and commentary by many leading political figures, both Democrat and Republican, as well as journalists who covered her campaign. Among those featured are:

President and Mrs. George H. W. Bush
Vice President Walter Mondale
President Bill Clinton
Secretary Madeleine Albright
Secretary Hillary Clinton
Senator Barbara Mikulski
Senator Olympia Snowe
Democratic House Leader Nancy Pelosi
Cokie Roberts, reporter, NPR and ABC
Al Hunt, former reporter, Wall Street Journal
Ed Rollins, Republican campaign consultant
Eleanor Smeal, President, Feminist Majority Foundation
Filmmaker Donna Zaccaro, a former NBC Today producer, created a moving, powerful and surprising portrait of her mother, who changed the face of American politics forever.