The remarkable story of Canada’s first female Jewish Supreme Court Judge had its world premiere at Toronto’s Hot Docs Festival this week.
The annual Canadian documentary festival aired the premiere of Without Precedent: The Supreme Life of Rosalie Abella on Monday evening at Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema.
Written and directed by Barry Avrich, the film tells the tale of Rosalie Silberman Abella, 76, and her journey to becoming the third woman on the bench.
Abella and Avrich were both present at the screening and appeared for a moderated Q&A after the film.
Abella praised the director for being a “genius” and admitted she was skeptical about the film, but that he turned it into “an extraordinary story.”
“I can’t believe I’m in front of people who are watching a movie about judging. Really, if you had to list what are the five things you want to see a movie about…,” Abella joked.
“Mostly it’s emotional and then to have it dedicated at the end to Irving Abella, whose story this is. I just feel mush, but peaceful mush,” she added.
In addition to Abella’s personal story of success, the documentary is also a beautiful love story between Abella and her partner, late Canadian historian Irving Abella, and their deep bond that helped each of them aspire greatness in their careers.
The film describes Rosie Abella’s upbringing as a daughter of Holocaust survivors who was born in a Displaced Person’s Camp in Stuttgart, Germany in 1946. Her family came to Canada as refugees when she was four years old. In the film, she described her home as a happy place full of joy.
She later studied law at the University of Toronto. She was appointed a judge at the age of 29, becoming the youngest and the first pregnant judge in Canadian history. In 2004, she was the first Jewish woman appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC). Seventeen years later on July 1, 2021, which is also her birthday, she retired from the SCC.
Considered by some as the “Canadian RBG” (Ruth Bader Ginsburg), Abella has been at the forefront of powerful and controversial legal decisions on employment equity, same sex marriage, constitutional law, and more landmark cases. Among her many accolades, Abella is being inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame this year for her humanitarian efforts.
The film includes interviews with notable figures, such as former prime ministers Ben Mulroney and Paul Martin, author Margaret Atwood, her former law clerks, and her beloved husband and two sons, Jacob and Zachary.
Throughout the film, everyone’s fond words about Abella and her drive and determination to achieve justice for Canadians was evident.
“I know her for her good judgment and her good humour…what the hell more do you want from a judge?,” Mulroney said.
Abella’s quirky and eclectic personality also shines through in the film, with footage of her former SCC office and home filled with colourful and unusual artwork and knickknacks.
Avrich said the inspiration for the documentary came out of his fascination with Abella and learning about her incredible history.
“It’s like having another Jewish grandmother but just happens to be someone who’s so extraordinarily brilliant and she’s more interested in hearing your story than telling you hers. And so it was a given that many years ago that I was thinking about it, and then we had this conversation about this particular project and of course, you know, Rosie would say, ‘Who’s going to be interested? Who’s interested?’ Everybody’s interested. And that’s when we began,” he said.
Abella added that the film is about her parents’ success in Canada after an unimaginable experience during the Second World War.
“I mean, this is a Canadian story. They eventually opened up their doors to people like us, and the parents who survived the Holocaust, built lives for their children, tried to start their lives again. I mean, that’s so important to be able to pay tribute to them and their resilience and their belief in Canada and their confidence in Canada,” she said.
Two years after retiring from the bench, Abella is now a law professor at Harvard University in
Cambridge, Massachusetts. She says working at the school has saved her, after her husband died from a long illness last year.
“Being at Harvard with incredible faculty and staff and students, having to prepare, having to teach, having to keep my brain going and help my legs move. And I just learn to get through every single day. And that seems to be it. The beginning of a third act, life in the United States where I am actually having a wonderful time explaining to American law students how great Canada is,” she said.
Hot Docs has one more upcoming screening of Without Precedent: The Supreme Life of Rosalie Abella at Isabel Bader Theatre on Friday at 11:15 a.m.. Tickets can be found here.
