American Blackout

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

The ways in which African-American voters have been marginalized in the electoral process are examined in this activist documentary. In the investigation of ballot counting in Florida in the much-contested 2000 presidential election, it was discovered that many of the communities where inaccurate tabulating took place were largely populate by African-Americans, who have traditionally been loyal Democratic voters. Filmmaker Ian Inaba digs into the controversy over the 2000 ballot count and the ways in which race played a hand in the legal decisions that resulted in George W. Bush's appointment as president. Ianba's research also leads him to Representative Cynthia McKinney, a congresswoman from Georgia who spearheaded an investigation of the firm that created voter lists for the State of Florida (and had ties to high-ranking Republican figures) and was also an outspoken opponent of Bush's policies regarding terrorism and the war in Iraq. In the 2002 election, McKinney had reason to believe she had fallen victim to the same corruption she sought to expose when she lost her House of Representatives seat in a hotly contested election. American Blackout received its premiere at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: All
• Number of Discs: 1
• Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital Stereo
• Features:
  • Capital Hill police officers speak out on McKinney incident
  • 19 minute activist's tool - American Blackout: Ohio 2004
  • Deleted scenes with discussions on the Carlyle Group and AIPAC
  • True Lies animated short featuring Taalam Acey

AWARDS

• Black Reel Awards

•     Nominated Best Independent Documentary - 2006

• Sundance Film Festival

•     Won Special Jury Prize (Documentary Jury) - 2006

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Director:

  Ian Inaba

• Producer:

  Anastasia King

• Featured Music:

  DJ Shadow

• Composer (Music Score):

  Soulsavers

• Featured Music:

  Thievery Corporation

• Composer (Music Score):

  Mark Batson, Michael Dearden

• Editor:

  Jean-Philippe Boucicaut, Ian Inaba, Liz Canning

• Executive Producer:

  Joshua Shore, Anthony Lappe, Jeff Hull, Stephen Marshall