(l-r) Senn, Shealy, McLeod, Gustafson, and Matthews
South Carolina’s "Sister Senators" are the focus of an upcoming feature documentary film that is currently in production with plans to premiere in 2026. The film follows the five women senators throughout their time in the South Carolina Senate in 2023 and 2024. It shines a light on their bipartisan collaboration to stand up for women’s rights in a state where 51% of the population are women but only 12.9% of state legislators are women.
While the film delves into the inner workings of state politics, it also showcases the friendship of the five Sister Senators—including moments that show them behind the scenes at the State House and behind the scenes as they prepare to accept the prestigious JFK Foundation Profile In Courage Award, which the group received in 2023.
The film also explores the backstories and personal lives of the five Senators – charting Senator Katrina Shealy’s 2012 win which made her the only woman in the Senate until Senator Margie Bright Matthews joined her in 2015 in the wake of the brutal murder of Senator Clementa Pinkney in the Charleston Massacre. Senators Mia McLeod and Sandy Senn joined in 2016, and Senator Penry Gustafson was elected in 2020.
The documentary is directed by local filmmaker Emily Harrold (In The Bubble with Jaime) and produced by Peabody Award winning filmmaker Robin Hessman, who’s most recent film Simple as Water for HBO was shortlisted for an Academy Award.
“The Sister Senators inspire and amaze me everyday," Harrold said. "Today, politics feels like it is a constant point of dissension and division—but these five women show that it is possible to work together for the good of the people. They are the examples our country needs right now."
The Sister Senators will appear at The Gaillard Center on March 20 at 5:30 pm for a sneak peak of a clip from the film and a moderated conversation in which the five will speak publicly together for the first time since four of them left office at the end of 2024. The conversation will be moderated by Frogmore Stew’s Grace Cowan.
Tickets can be purchased at sistersenatorsfilm.com and all proceeds from the evening go directly towards the costs of producing the documentary.
