World Premiere
Slay the Dragon
| USA | 101 MINUTES | EnglishDocumentary, Politics
Gerrymandering has been a popular topic recently, and for good reason. Beyond the blatant political interests fueling the practice, gerrymandering has led to an erosion of democracy, a disregard for the voter, and without it various events in the past years would not have been pulled off. Slay the Dragon draws direct connections between this practice and the Flint water crisis, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s removal of collective bargaining for public employees, bathroom bills, racism, and voter ID laws.
We learn about packing and cracking and witness creative redistricting lines full of twists, curves, and squiggles to guarantee a certain majority. But we also experience hope in the form of Katie Fahey, a Michigander who forms the group Voters Not Politicians working to bring a measure onto the state’s ballot to require an independent group—not the legislature—to draw the lines. And in Wisconsin, an activist group challenges the state’s redistricting in a case that makes its way to the US Supreme Court. Directors Barak Goodman and Chris Durrance crafts a detailed, maddening, ultimately inspiring look—deftly balancing the facts and maps with the tireless work of people like Fahey to get us to act to ensure that democracy will survive.
—Brian Gordon
After the Premiere Screening: a conversation with directors Barak Goodman and Chris Durance, subject Katie Fahey, author of the national bestseller Ratf**ked: Why Your Vote Doesn't Count David Daley, and Senior Reporter at Mother Jones and author of Give Us the Ballot Ari Berman. Moderated by professor and political commentator Melissa Harris-Perry.
We learn about packing and cracking and witness creative redistricting lines full of twists, curves, and squiggles to guarantee a certain majority. But we also experience hope in the form of Katie Fahey, a Michigander who forms the group Voters Not Politicians working to bring a measure onto the state’s ballot to require an independent group—not the legislature—to draw the lines. And in Wisconsin, an activist group challenges the state’s redistricting in a case that makes its way to the US Supreme Court. Directors Barak Goodman and Chris Durrance crafts a detailed, maddening, ultimately inspiring look—deftly balancing the facts and maps with the tireless work of people like Fahey to get us to act to ensure that democracy will survive.
—Brian Gordon
After the Premiere Screening: a conversation with directors Barak Goodman and Chris Durance, subject Katie Fahey, author of the national bestseller Ratf**ked: Why Your Vote Doesn't Count David Daley, and Senior Reporter at Mother Jones and author of Give Us the Ballot Ari Berman. Moderated by professor and political commentator Melissa Harris-Perry.
Cast & Credits
Directed by
Chris Durrance
Barak Goodman and Chris Durrance have directed several films together, including Clinton for PBS’s American Experience, and the six-part series Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies. Separately and together, they have won numerous Peabody, Emmy®, and Writers Guild Awards, and an Academy Award® nomination.
Director
Barak Goodman, Chris Durrance
Producer
Barak Goodman, Chris Durrance
Cinematographer
Samuel Russell
Composer
Gary Lionelli
Editor
Seth Bomse
Executive Producer
Jeff Skoll, Diane Weyermann, William von Mueffling, Coralie Charriol Paul
Associate Producer
Charlotte Cooley
Co-Producer
Grace McNally
Panelists
Mike Allen
Melissa Harris-Perry
Katie Fahey
As founder of the grassroots, nonpartisan campaign, Voters Not Politicians, Katie Fahey started a political movement in 2016 that would take on gerrymandering in Michigan by amending the State Constitution with 61 percent of the vote. Fahey began her career with SpartanNash, creating their first sustainability program. Before that, she worked for Michigan Recycling Coalition. Fahey now is executive director of The People, a nonprofit that aims to unite citizens from across the country and across the political spectrum in altering the status quo. Fahey graduated from Aquinas College in 2011 with degrees in Sustainable Business and Community Leadership.
David Daley
Ari Berman
Ari Berman is a senior reporter at Mother Jones, covering voting rights, and a reporting fellow at Type Media Center. He’s the author of Give Us the Ballot: The Modern Struggle for Voting Rights in America and Herding Donkeys: The Fight to Rebuild the Democratic Party and Reshape American Politics. He won a 2017 Izzy Award for outstanding achievement in independent media.
Chris Durrance
Chris Durrance is a documentary filmmaker who has worked on more than a dozen films for PBS FRONTLINE, including College Inc., The Madoff Affair and Return of the Taliban. He is the winner of a Peabody, two Emmys, a duPont-Columbia Silver Baton and an Overseas Press Club award. He has worked with Barak Goodman on Clinton, the four-hour presidential biography, and Cancer: The Emperor of all Maladies. More recently, he produced a biography of President Ford and is currently producing The Gene, slated for broadcast on PBS in 2020.
Contacts
US Sales Contact
Print Source
Trish Ward-Torres
Participant Media
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
Phone: 310 623 4968
ttorres@participant.com
Participant Media
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
Phone: 310 623 4968
ttorres@participant.com
International Sales Contact
International Sales Agent
Press Contact
Jordan Lawrence
DKC Public Relations
New York, NY 10016
Phone: 212 981 5220
jordan_lawrence@dkcnews.com
DKC Public Relations
New York, NY 10016
Phone: 212 981 5220
jordan_lawrence@dkcnews.com
* Rush Tickets available at venue except for
Beacon Theatre
Beacon Theatre
Rush will be offered when advanced tickets for a screening or event are no longer available at venues
other than Beacon Theatre.
The Rush system functions as a standby line that will form at the venue approximately one hour prior to scheduled start time. Admittance is based on availability and will begin roughly 10 minutes prior to program start time. Rush Tickets are the same price as advance tickets and are payable upon entry.
The Rush system functions as a standby line that will form at the venue approximately one hour prior to scheduled start time. Admittance is based on availability and will begin roughly 10 minutes prior to program start time. Rush Tickets are the same price as advance tickets and are payable upon entry.
