| Unprecedented: The 2000 Presidential Election | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Richard Ray Pérez Joan Sekler |
| Written by | William Haugse Richard Ray Pérez Joan Sekler |
| Produced by | Richard Ray Pérez Joan Sekler |
| Starring | Danny Glover(2004) |
| Narrated by | Peter Coyote |
| Cinematography | Richard Ray Pérez |
| Edited by | William Haugse Matthew Martin |
| Music by | Bobby Johnston |
| Distributed by | Shout! Factory |
Release date |
|
Running time | 47 min.(2002) 57 min.(2004) |
| Language | English |
Unprecedented: The 2000 Presidential Election is a 2002 47-minute documentary directed and co-written byRichard Ray Pérez and Joan Sekler,[1] and narrated byPeter Coyote,[2] about the contested2000 presidential election in Florida.[3]
It was re-released in an extended 56-minute[4]2004 Campaign Edition presented byDanny Glover to tie in with the2004 US presidential election.[5]
A Public Interest Pictures Film, it was co-executive produced byRobert Greenwald and Earl Katz.[1] Greenwald later made this the first of his "Un-Trilogy", which also includesUncovered: The War on Iraq andUnconstitutional: The War on Our Civil Liberties.[6]
Unprecedented chronicles irregularities in the2000 US presidential election in the swing state of Florida.[3]
The film begins with claims that African Americans and other likely Democratic voters were disenfranchised by a resurrected 1868 law that prevented felons from voting.[7] This law was originally intended to keep blacks from the polls, in the wake of theCivil War.[8] In 2000, Florida Secretary of StateKatherine Harris used the original law to create a computerized list of supposed ex-cons. The list had the vaguest parameters, and included as many as 57,000 to 91,000 non-felons, who were overwhelmingly people of color.[5] On election day, these people were turned away at the polls.[4] Since 90% of African Americans vote Democratic, this effectively reduced the number of votes for Democratic candidateAl Gore.[5]
Unprecedented also examines the Florida recount and thehanging chad controversy.[4] It faults Gore for demanding a recount of only certain counties, instead of the whole state;[2] and also presents evidence that the Republican Party paid staffers to create a disturbance and end the recount prematurely.[7]
The film then takes aim at the December 2000Supreme Court decision that gaveGeorge W. Bush the presidency.[4] The film documents conflicts of interest that should have resulted in the recusal of two of the SCOTUS justices.[7]
Finally, it explores the problems with electronic voting machines.[5] It argues that the companies that make these machines do not allow audits of the machines (allegedly because of copyright and trademark issues), which leaves them wide open for fraud.[4] The machines also do not give paper receipts, so there is no physical evidence in case of the need for a recount.[7]
In the festival circuit, the film won eleven awards, including the Grand Festival award at the Berkley Film and Video Festival; the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary, and the Director's Award at the New York International Film Festival.[5] It enjoyed a limited theatrical release[8] and was broadcast internationally on cable.[9] The DVD sold extremely well onAmazon.com, coming in at 68 on their 2004 sales rank.[8] Liberal advocacy groupMoveOn sold 25,000 copies in three days.[10]Unprecedented was also viewed at screenings in homes and communities across the country, and was available streaming on the Internet.[10]
This multi-tiered distribution model was revolutionary at the time. Executive ProducerRobert Greenwald called it a "breakthrough", and has honed it in his subsequent films.[10]
Unprecedented is said to have "jumpstarted" Greenwald's documentary filmmaking career.[8]
After this film, Sekler went on to produceUnconvention: A Mix-Tape from St. Paul, RNC '08, a documentary about the2008 Republican National Convention inSaint Paul, Minnesota.