CONNIE

The powers and possibilities of community engagement

Lee Constance “Connie” Bowles Eve was a changemaker, women’s advocate, inspirational community leader, and public service powerhouse. Based in Buffalo, NY, she was the founder of Women for Human Rights and Dignity, Inc. which provided the most comprehensive alternative to incarceration and support network for women in New York State’s history. Connie is a half-hour documentary that explores Connie’s life through interviews, archival footage, and animation. Funded in part by a grant from the Cameron Baird Foundation, Connie premiered at PBS Station BTPM and is currently on the festival circuit. Contact me at dorothea (at) termite (dot) org if you are interested in setting up a screening.

Synopsis:

Connie – the powers and possibilities of community engagement is a 27-minute documentary about the remarkable life and work of Buffalo-based activist, women’s advocate, and inspirational community leader Lee Constance “Connie” Bowles Eve. Connie’s work for women, especially incarcerated women and their children, is groundbreaking and nationally celebrated. The organization she founded, Women For Human Rights and Dignity, provided the largest and most comprehensive alternative to incarceration and support network for women in New York State’s history, serving as a model for alternative prison programs nationwide. Connie and her husband, Deputy Speaker of the New York State Assembly Arthur O. Eve, are known as a New York power couple who both fought hard for the rights of poor and marginalized people. Connie was an active, beloved, and joyful organizer and activist until the very end of her life. Her belief in the power and possibilities of community engagement was reflected in everything she did. This documentary chronicles Connie’s extraordinary life and legacy through verité footage, archival material, interviews, and animation. Connie passed away in March of 2024 at age 91.

Credits:

  • Director: Dorothea Braemer

  • Editor: Samantha Reeb

  • Camera & Sound: Olurotimi Akanbi

  • Additional Camera: Carl Lee, Dorothea Braemer

  • Animation: Taylor Antoine and Roger Scott  

  • Color Correction: Stephen Rosenthal

  • Music: Thilo Schaller

Community activist Esther Annan is helping Connie Eve get ready for her role as Queen of the 2023 Juneteenth Festival.

Awards:

  • People's Telly - Film & Shorts – Gold Award (2026)

  • Telly Winner in Film & Shorts – Documentary, Bronze Award (2026)

  • Best Documentary Short, London International Filmmakers Festival (2026)

  • The Webby Awards, Official Honoree (2026)

  • Special Jury Award, SR Socially Relevant Film Festival (2026)

  • Global Shorts, Honorable Mention (2026)

  • Best Life Film - Toronto/Los Angeles Documentary Feature and Short Film Festival (2025)