Tough Old Broads

Tough Old Broads was watched as part of the Cascadia International Women’s Film Festival 2026! It had its showing on Sunday, May 3, as part of the festival.

We love trailblazers around here. Because it is in fact, hard, to blaze a trail, and people who are strong enough to be the first to try something (that isn’t like…gross I guess) should be celebrated, especially if they are working towards equitable rights and things that are just common sense.

Tough Old Broads is a documentary set to let us know about three different women who in fact, “blazed trails,” in the past, and are still using their clout and their voice to support others looking to do the same. These women are Sheila Watt-Cloutier, Sharon Farmer, and Kathrine Switzer.

A picture of a man literally trying to keep womenkind down.First up we have Sheila Watt-Cloutier, who has been working on various jobs and Inuk activist work since the 1970’s. She has dealt with politics at a larger scale since the 90’s, written quite a few books, but the main point here is her work being a woman and one of the first to start legal action against the US for its role in climate change.

Sharon Farmer, a photojournalist, transitioned from working at newspapers into working at the White House. In fact, she was the first woman and first POC to be the official white house photographer, during the Bill Clinton terms.

And finally we have Katherine Switzer, who is a runner! She is seen in the photo above, mid Boston Marathon with a race organizer trying to forcibly stop her, as she was the first woman to enter the Boston Marathon.

Now, all three of these women are still active in there spheres. They run charities, write books, give talks, and work on inspiring the next batch of game changers. All three have very interesting stories worth looking at and are putting in work despite their ages. This documentary is a good look at chasing your dreams and doing what was seen as impossible at the time.

2 out of 4.