Director: Ian Inaba
Producer: Anastasia King
Anastasia King and Cynthia McKinney in attendance

If any documentary could inspire people to fight for their right to vote, this one is it. Director Ian Inaba delves into the systematic disenfranchisement of African-American voters in Florida in 2000 and in Ohio in 2004. The film’s heroine is the controversial Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, whose investigation of the Florida election, as well as her outspoken criticism of the war in Iraq, has made her a target of a relentless rightwing “swiftboating” campaign. McKinney’s habit of speaking truth to power (her confrontation of an openly contemptuous Donald Rumsfeld is one of the film’s high points) has also caused her own party to view her as an extremist, but her dedication to exposing racist policies, particularly in relation to voting rights cannot be denied. The recent renewal of the Voting Rights Act does not mean that dirty tricks will not continue at the polls. AMERICAN BLACKOUT is an inspiring voters’ manual for the immediate future. (Amy Taubin)

Anastasia King launched her career in entertainment with renowned choreographer/director Otis Sallid after studying Economics and Entrepreneurial Management at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. She has since accumulated dozens of credits, including THE VISIT, a feature film starring Billy Dee Williams and Phylicia Rashad; a concert video for Alicia Keys; and music videos for Nine Inch Nails, LL Cool J, And The Notorious B.I.G.

• 2006 Sundance Film Festival: Special Jury Prize
• 2006 Cleveland International Film Festival: Best Documentary
• 2006 Boston Independent Film Festival: Best Documentary
• 2006 Urbanworld Film Festival: Best Documentary