Special Jury Prizes in documentary went to "American Blackout," Ian Inaba's accusatory look at voting irregularities in the 2000 and 2004 elections.
Ian Inaba's American Blackout is a stylish, intelligent, and provocative documentary that looks at the historic and systematic disenfranchisement of the black vote through the lens of the political career of Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney (D-Georgia). George W. Bush's narrow victory in 2000 launched an historic investigation into Florida's election process. Public focus was on dysfunctional ballots and the Supreme Court litigation, but Inaba's inquiry leads him to Congresswoman McKinney, who investigated the private company hired by the state of Florida to generate voter lists, which effectively shut out the black vote and handed Bush an unlikely victory. While tracking McKinney's career, Inaba reveals a host of ways in which black political power is systematically squelched, ranging from the slander that assailed McKinney when she stood up to the Bush administration on 9/11 and Iraq, to the political machinations that disempowered the black vote in the Georgia Democratic primaries and the Ohio presidential election in 2004. Inaba reminds us that African Americans have long fought a war inside our country for their right to vote, and unfortunately that war rages on today. American Blackout emotionally revitalizes the core of our power as American citizens–the right to vote–and effectively reveals that the fate of black voters is inextricably tied to the fate of all Americans.— Shari Frilot
http://festival.sundance.org/filmguide/popup.aspx?film=6675"American Blackout," an engrossing, low-budget documentary, is a powerful examination of voting rights in America. The filmmakers intend to use the film as a political tool to galvanize voters. Director Ian Inaba, who is part of Guerilla News Network, an organization that covers stories the mainstream media overlooks, focuses on the disturbing incidents of voter disenfranchisement among African-Americans, who traditionally vote democratic.
The jumping off point is the 2000 presidential election results in Florida, where many blacks were turned away at the polls. Given the saturation coverage of that election and the fight over the Florida vote count, making this material compelling once again would appear to an impossible feat but Inaba does it.
He explores the history of the black vote by following the ups and downs of the Democratic congresswoman from Georgia, Cynthia McKinney, an outspoken critic of the Bush Administration, whose early stand against the Iraq War cost her a re-election bid. More to the point, McKinney was leading an investigation into the 2000 election voting irregularities.
Well structured and fast paced, the film uses news footage, interviews with voters and congressional leaders, poignant images of Ohio voters standing for hours in the rain, only to be told it was too late to vote. Inaba adds stylish touches such as a split screen where different voters speak out from banked monitors. Congressman John Lewis and a few others are shot against a white background to dramatic effect.
McKinney's passion is infectious but her stance had made her a target for the opposition. One of the beauties of "American Blackout" is that even if viewers don't share her politics, what was done to McKinney in an effort to unseat her, is so mean spirited and unfair, it would be difficult not to be moved by her against-all-odds return to Congress.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/reviews/review_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001919266
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