Lilly Ledbetter famously said, "Sometimes in life, you hit a turning point." The turning point she hit came in 1998, when someone slipped an anonymous note into her mailbox at work. It told her that her employer of nearly 20 years—Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company of Gadsen, Alabama—had been paying her about half of what her male counterparts were earning for doing the same work.

The news hit Lilly like a gut punch. “I thought about how much my family had done without and how hard it had been when it was totally unnecessary,” she said, not to mention what she’d lost in terms of benefits, retirement savings, Social Security and more. Lilly took Goodyear to court and sued the company for gender discrimination. The legal battle she started in 1999 lasted almost a decade and went all the way to the Supreme Court. Although she eventually lost her case on a technicality, Congress took up her fight and in 2009 passed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.

Now, Lilly is coming to the big screen. This May, the theatrical release of LILLY will send her story to movie theaters across the U.S. And the team at Lincoln Road Enterprises could not be prouder: Lincoln Road was a co-executive producer on the film, thanks to funding by Ann M. Drake.

Bringing an independent production like LILLY to life—and then getting it shown—is no small feat. “I never wanted to make a political film,” said writer-director Rachel Feldman about LILLY. Instead, she says, it’s a story about ordinary people doing extraordinary things. The fight Lilly Ledbetter took on—against powerful people and wealthy, entrenched interests—required exceptional courage and grit. Lilly was “a beautiful, true, American hero,” said Patricia Clarkson, the Academy Award-nominated actress who plays Lilly in the movie. She described the role as “the privilege of my lifetime.” “We have to tell these stories of great women,” she said.

LILLY had its world premiere in October 2024, at the Hamptons International Film Festival. Since then, it’s been shown at other festivals from coast to coast to positive reviews. But its commercial release this spring in movie theaters across the country means Lilly’s fight for women will be shared with a far greater audience—including young women who might not know about Lilly’s fight nor understand how it benefits them today.

“I believe in the power of story to affect culture,” writer-director Rachel Feldman has said. In challenging times, when women still strive to receive equal pay for equal work, Lilly’s battle—and courage—live on.

In Chicago, the film will be showing for a limited time at the Gene Siskel Film Center and Wayfarer Theaters from May 9 to 16. Ticket sales will commence approximately two weeks before the release date.

For more information and to watch the trailer, visit lillymovie.com.

To inquire about group sales and/or theater buy-outs, fill out this form.