Our last Film Night was the screening of John Lewis: Good Trouble on October 29. Just in time to inspire us to Get Out the Vote for the General Election.
Our mission is to screen documentaries about the USA. We always have a wide range of documentaries and topics under consideration. Share your recommendations by emailing us at [email protected] We welcome new members joining us to help make Film Nights flourish!
We are screening this film on October 29, 2020. See here for details.
see details on Participant media
Dawn Porter’s widely-acclaimed and timely documentary!
John Lewis was known as the “conscience of congress”.
He stressed that “The vote is precious. It is almost sacred. It is the most powerful non-violent tool we have in a democracy.”
He called upon us all to join him in getting into “… good trouble, necessary trouble, and help redeem the soul of America.”
Don’t miss this Film Night!
About the film: see Participant media
This film is both timely and a call to action! Gerrymandering – the drawing of districts in a way to gain partisan advantage – is its focus. After the 2008 election, Republicans developed a strategy and devoted resources to gaining control of state governorships and legislatures with the specific objective of controlling the process of redistricting. In 2010, the Republican party launched REDMAP (Redistricting Majority Project) which was a well-funded and technologically sophisticated effort to change the electoral map and thereby representation in key swing states in which Democratic voters were the majority over all. As the film points out the result was one of ‘greatest electoral manipulations in U.S, history’.
These efforts were extraordinarily effective, but were not left unchallenged. David Daley, author of RatF**ked spoke to DAUK in 2017 and gave full details of the project and how it works to skew representation and fundamentally challenge the foundations of our democracy,
Voters have fought back- using court challenges and ballot initiatives – to contest the maps and the practice itself. This film tells the story of the Michigan grassroots movement to put an anti-gerrymandering initiative on the ballot.
About the Film Night
We hope to have David Daley, author of Ratf**ked: Why Your Vote Doesn’t Count (2017) and Unrigged: How Americans Are Battling Back to Save Democracy (2020) as the after-screening speaker in discussion with our DAUK Voting Rights experts.
Reminder!
As we vote in two weeks, remember that voting in the down-ballot State contests is critical! Governors, Attorney Generals as well as state legislatures play key roles for voting rights in general and in redistricting plans. Remind you family and friends that filling in the 2020 Census is vital to ensuring that everyone is counted!
Watch this space for updates!
After Lockdown? An exception to the rule that we only screen documentaries! The Film Committee and DAUK LGBT+ Caucus were in the final stages of planning a big in-person event with Lance Black, the Oscar award-winning scriptwriter for Milk. Then Covid 19 struck!
Films under Consideration
We regularly review and consider a large number of documentaries on a wide range of topics for our Film Nights. If you wish to recommend a documentary, contact us at [email protected]
