Award-winning filmmaker Stacey Tenenbaum is back with yet another powerful story rooted in grit and determination. Tough Old Broads, as the title suggests, tells the story of three women who have aged into icons of inspiration and continue to blaze trails across generations and fields. Following its premiere at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival on February 10, 2026, Tenenbaum sat with Netflix Junkie to reflect on the making of her documentary.

From discussing the technicalities of weaving three stories into one film to revealing the message she hopes to convey, Tenenbaum offers an unfiltered look at her vision.

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Hriddhi Maitra: This documentary focuses on three women — three incredibly powerful women: Katherine Switzer, Sharon Farmer, and Siila “Sheila” Watt-Cloutier. But I’m sure there were also many other potential subjects who could have fit this documentary and its theme as well.

What was it that made you think, OK, these are the three women and these are the stories that I’m going to go ahead with? What specifically drew you to these women?

Stacey Tenenbaum: Yeah, I think that there are tough old broads everywhere in the world. Absolutely, women are the best. But these three — I think what really drew me to them was that they were trailblazers.

They were the first women to do something in a man’s world. That was really interesting to me. How did they manage to do it, even in times that were worse for women than they are now?

And then the other thing was that they have been activists for a very long period of time — 20 years, 30 years, 40. Even Katherine Switzer — almost 60 years. She’s been an activist for women in sports. So I really wanted to know what kept them going all those years — how they were able to sustain it.

And then the third thing was that they are still active today. I really wanted to show older women being active, having meaning in their lives, being physically active, but also active in their activism.

So I thought those three things were really what stood out for me.

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Hriddhi Maitra: Have you stayed in touch with them ever since the release? What are their reactions? How have they responded to seeing themselves in the documentary?

Stacey Tenenbaum: Well, I worked quite closely with them while editing because it’s such a personal subject. You want them to be comfortable with how you’re telling their life story.

So what I did was share each of their portions — only the part they were featured in — with them. They hadn’t seen the whole film until very close to our premiere.

That was very exciting because we had our world premiere two days ago here in Santa Barbara, and Katherine Switzer and Sharon Farmer both managed to make it to the screening.

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Siila wasn’t able to come because she had another commitment. So I was able to watch the film for the first time in a big cinema, on a beautiful screen, with both of them. And that was really, really special.

So yeah, it was great.

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Hriddhi Maitra: While watching the film, one thing that really stood out to me was that the documentary did not shy away from showing us the true story, but it was also handled very sensitively and carefully. How did you strike that balance and navigate that balance of ethical storytelling?

Stacey Tenenbaum: Yeah, as a filmmaker, you always have to be aware of that because someone’s giving you something precious. They’re letting you tell their story. And in editing, you make choices, right? Even though they’re telling their story, at the end of the day, there is editing involved — which is why I worked very closely with them.

But I also think the reason they decided to work with me was because we all shared a goal. We wanted to share these stories in order to empower people to create change on their own and continue being activists.

We all shared the same goal, and that really helped build trust. We wanted to inspire other women — younger women as well — who might not know the history of these people, where we’ve come from, and how far we still have left to go.

So that allowed me to tell their stories in a way they were happy with.

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Hriddhi Maitra: Since you mentioned editing, the film does not isolate each woman’s story but instead cross-cuts between them, which can be challenging because it can disrupt rhythm and emotional continuity.

How did you design that editorial structure to maintain cohesion across those shifts? Were you tracking emotional beats and ideological parallels to justify each cut?

Stacey Tenenbaum: Yeah, it was complicated. It wasn’t easy. But I split the film into three blocks in my mind. First, I needed to tell the history of their trailblazing — how they were the first women to do what they did.

Then, each woman has managed to create meaningful change. Siila’s work resulted in persistent organic pollutants being banned internationally at the UN. Katherine managed to get the Women’s Marathon accepted into the Olympics.

So these women changed the world. I knew I wanted that as a block.

Then I wanted to show their legacy — what they’re working toward now and how they’re passing knowledge to the next generation.

They’re very different women with different energy, so sometimes it feels like shifting gears. But hopefully it keeps viewers engaged because they’re always experiencing something new.

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Hriddhi Maitra: What made this feel like the right moment to bring these stories to audiences? I know you’ve been working on this film for several years.

Did you consciously draw parallels between their earlier struggles and today’s gender politics — especially conversations around reproductive rights, feminism, and political representation? Was there a link?

Stacey Tenenbaum: Yeah, absolutely. My goal was to inspire the next generation because activism isn’t solved in one generation. We’re not going to solve climate change in one generation.

I wanted younger people to learn from older people. That was always the goal.

And also to learn history. If we don’t know our history, we can’t see how far we’ve come. These women can say that in 1967 no women were running, and they were physically assaulted for wanting to run a marathon. Now it’s normal.

That’s progress within 40 years.

I wanted the film to be hopeful — to show that change is possible. It may take 20 or 30 years, but it’s possible.

And change isn’t a straight line. There’s progress, then setbacks. So what do you do in dark times? How do you keep going?

Regardless of what’s happening in society, you have to keep trying. That’s what’s important.

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Hriddhi Maitra:  So today, if a young woman or emerging activist watches this film and sees herself in these stories, what do you hope she takes away from it?

Stacey Tenenbaum: The film follows three activists who are very different. They have different ways of creating change.

Sharon goes to marches. Siila worked through government. People think you have to be a certain way to be an activist, but there are many ways.

It’s about asking: What are my skills? What can I bring? What kind of activism can I do to create positive change?

It doesn’t have to be big. It can be small — in your community or just being kind.

I hope the film shows there’s something for everyone.

Hriddhi Maitra: It absolutely did. I was nervous before this interview because I haven’t done this much. I’m a newbie — this is my second interview. But watching the film, I thought, OK, these women are doing so much. I’ve got this. I’ll do it.

Stacey Tenenbaum: That’s great. And all of them doubted themselves too. They talk about self-doubt in the film. We all have that. It’s normal. The question is — do you do it anyway? We all have fears. You just push through. And you’re really good at it.

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Hriddhi Maitra: Thank you, Stacey. Last but not least, now that the documentary is out and being so well received, is there going to be another part with more powerful stories?

Stacey Tenenbaum: There are so many women around the world doing incredible things. But I’m leaving those stories for others to tell because I’m working on something completely different now.

But I absolutely encourage people to tell stories about women. We’re still underrepresented both on camera and behind the camera.

Hriddhi Maitra: Thank you, Stacey. That was about it. It was awesome. Thank you for talking to me.

Stacey Tenenbaum: Thank you for doing the interview. I’m really proud of you.

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