Weiner (film)

The documentary follows congressman Anthony Weiner and his wife Huma Abedin, shortly after his 2011 resignation when scandalous photos of Weiner mysteriously appeared on his Twitter account.[3] The photos led to a tumultuous spiral as more and more pictures of the congressman in various states of undress began to leak to the public.[4] The documentary revolves around Weiner's attempted comeback from his initial resignation during his 2013 campaign in the Democratic Party primary for Mayor of New York City. His campaign goes well at first, with many New Yorkers willing to give him a second chance as evidenced in polls putting him at or near the top of a tight mayoral race.[5]

During the filming of the documentary, however, additional leaked photos and evidence of online sexual activity surface, including explicit text conversations with women and a teenaged child that occurred well after his 2011 resignation from Congress. The mood of the campaign switches from exuberance to pain. Intimate views are captured of Weiner, his wife and his campaign staff struggling with the new revelations and the media firestorm that ensues. Weiner's wife, an adviser to Hillary Clinton, comes under fire during the scandal.[6] The relationship between the couple becomes strained, and in a couple of instances, the camera is asked to leave the room.[7][8] Weiner's campaign manager quits when a press conference is held in which Weiner comes clean about his sexting, and his campaign begins to take a downward spiral. Weiner comes in fifth place in the polls, garnering only 4.9% of the popular vote.[9]

The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2016. It was released theatrically in the United States in May 2016 and broadcast on Showtime in October 2016. Starting in June 2014, the film began releasing internationally in the UK, Netherlands, Scandinavia, Australia, and Japan, and television broadcasts in Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Israel, Belgium, and Holland. The film received an R rating from the MPAA for language and some sexual material.

Upon release, Anthony Weiner declined to endorse the film and claimed he had no intention of ever seeing the final product, saying "I already know how it ends."

After the film was released, Weiner claimed that "Kriegman had assured him verbally and in emails that he would not use Abedin in the film without her consent", and that Abedin never granted permission for Kriegman to use the footage. When asked if he will sue the filmmakers, Weiner didn't give a definitive answer. The filmmakers disputed Weiner's claim, stating that they clearly "had consent from everyone who appears in the film, including Anthony and Huma."[10]

1.^ Abedin and Weiner separated in 2017.[26]

• Weiner at IMDb
• Weiner at Box Office Mojo
• Weiner at Rotten Tomatoes