T&C Exclusive: Watch the Trailer for Prime Minister

A new documentary offers an intimate look at Jacinda Ardern's life during her five years as New Zealand's prime minister.

Jacinda Ardern made history in 2017 when at just 37 years old she was elected Prime Minister of New Zealand becoming the nation's youngest leader in more than 150 years. Now, a new documentary takes audiences behind the scenes of her five years in office, offering an intimate look at what it means to be a modern woman in power.

Using archival footage, home videos shot by her partner while Ardern was in office, and new interviews, the film explores Ardern's political accomplishments and challenges, including her responses to the Covid-19 pandemic and the tragic 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings, as well as her experiences as a new mother in the public eye.

"The balance of her personal life and her professional career is the story. The world watched Jacinda lead through some of the toughest moments in recent history, and at the same time, saw her become a mother, raise a child, and face constant public scrutiny. Her personal life wasn’t separate from her leadership, it shaped the way she led," director Michelle Walshe tells Town & Country. "She never hid from that or apologized for that. It’s easy to forget that our leaders are human, with lives just as complex as our own. What made Jacinda different was how she let that humanity guide her decisions. That duality felt essential to honor and share in the film."

Walshe's fellow director Lindsay Utz agrees, sharing that it was important to the team to show how the personal was political for Ardern. "Leadership doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Yet women are so often expected to keep their personal lives out of view. That same expectation isn’t placed on men. When male leaders have families, it’s often seen as a strength—or simply goes unremarked," Utz says. "For women, especially mothers, it becomes a point of scrutiny or even doubt. Jacinda never tried to hide those parts of her life. She brought her whole self to the role, and that felt important to show. Not as a statement, but as a reflection of what leadership can look like when we stop pretending we’re one dimensional."

Prime Minister made it's global premiere at Sundance earlier this year; it will be released in theaters on June 13. It will also appear on HBO and CNN, and will stream on HBO Max. Above, Town & Country exclusively premieres the trailer.