OpEdNews - Page 2 of Article: A Chat with Filmmaker Dorothy Fadiman on the eve of the release of "STEALING AMERICA: Vote by Vote"

DF: There has been a feeling, until recently, that the problems surrounding voting and counting our votes are so far reaching, that nothing we do will make a difference quickly enough to matter. The film ends with a vivid example of what is possible. One person, a woman from New Mexico, has a vision for moving toward paper ballots in her state. Gradually, she gathers support across the state and, working together, these activists are successful. This story of getting paper ballots legislated isn’t the full solution, but it is a solid start. We end the film on this note because I want people to "take away" the feeling that 1) they can be effective; 2) they need to pay attention and find out how to stay informed; and 3) there is nothing mysterious about what to do. Anyone can affect election practices by becoming better informed, and joining with others to work together. The Internet is an excellent resource for finding individuals and groups who are engaged.

We have a large section of our website devoted to becoming active.
www.stealingamericathemovie.org/

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Fadiman exhibits great confidence in the power of citizen involvement. She draws on this during the molding of her films. And she sees this critical goal – “making our elections secure and transparent” – as possible only after Americans realize how compromised our elections have become. STEALING AMERICA provides a wake-up call.

During our conversation, Fadiman aptly recounted the fable of the Sun and the Wind, who compete to see which of them can get a man to take off his coat. The Wind goes first, ferociously blowing, to no avail. The man only clutches his coat more tightly around him. The Sun takes a different and much more effective tack. It sends its warm, inviting rays down to take the chill out of the air, enticing the man to strip down to his shirtsleeves. Fadiman aims “for the facts to be like the sun, and for people to remove their defenses voluntarily. Once their defenses come down, they can begin to hear the call to action.” Moving away from denial is the first step towards working for change.

An Inconvenient Truth, Fahrenheit 911, and Sicko have already proved that serious documentaries can make an impact via the commercial theatre circuit. Fadiman hopes that STEALING AMERICA might join their ranks. She has been using film to raise awareness and bring about change for the last three decades. STEALING AMERICA is a worthy successor in that line.

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Fadiman co-authored Producing with Passion: Making Films That Change the World, that came out earlier this summer. In it, she shares her broad experience in creating, filming and distributing her work. This is a wonderful hands-on, practical guide for other socially conscious filmmakers.

Go to www.StealingAmericaTheMovie.org/ (action website goes live August 1) for actions you can take to make our elections more secure and for detailed instructions and additional action ideas.

STEALING AMERICA will start by running for a week in each of 13 cities, with more in the process of being added. Here is the schedule. Grab someone – friend, neighbor, or family member – go see this film, and spread the word!

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A special "thank-you" to Sally Castleman for editing and being a sounding-board.

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