CALL TO ACTION FOR AMERICAN VOTERS
FREE FOR ALL!
PREMIERES 4TH OF JULY, 2008 AT
www.FreeForAll.tv
AND ON DVD
Political Doc with Jerry Springer, Noam Chomsky and Greg Palast Reveals How 2008 U.S. Election is Stolen & How to Win It Back
LOS ANGELES (June 23, 2008)—Filmmaker John Wellington Ennis’ Shoot First Inc. is proud to present the call-to-action political documentary FREE FOR ALL! premiering online at www.freeforall.tv for free, starting on July 4, 2008. Just in time for the 2008 Presidential Elections, the satirical doc uncovers evidence of schemes that swing U.S. Elections. The feature-length indie film features Ennis in “one dude’s quest for democracy” with BBC investigative journalist and best-selling author Greg Palast. The FREE FOR ALL! DVD will also be available for purchase on the website for $20.08 or viewers can download the film for $4.95.
Palast—credited as the journalist that broke the story of how Jeb Bush purged thousands of Black Florida citizens from the 2000 election—says, “The Election has been stolen. What you have to do is swipe it back.”
Ennis comments, “With so much information that keeps coming to light regarding the 2000 and 2004 elections—like HBO’s recent film ‘Recount’—I wanted to create a cohesive picture for American voters regarding the misconduct that is happening in our electoral process, as well as empower people to make change. My non-partisan non-profit group, Video The Vote is just one way that an individual can make a difference. The best way, of course, is to vote and to know voter rights.”
FREE FOR ALL! features filmmaker John Wellington Ennis—a disillusioned American—in Ohio with a camera, business suit, sense of humor and faded ideals. The film explores the history of election fraud and delves into the misconduct happening in the U.S. since the famed 2000 Election when thousands of black Democratic voters were disenfranchised in Florida. Ennis notices the pattern reoccurring again in the 2004 Election, so he grabs his camera for the 2006 election, and goes on a mission to find answers in the swing state of Ohio. Along the way, he interviews a number of authors, scholars, politicians and celebrities to piece together the big picture for American voters—the 2008 Election is the next to be stolen and now is the time to steal it back.
FREE FOR ALL! producer Holly Mosher says, “This election year, the game at play in Ohio and across the country is not to win the most votes, but to stop the most voters. This film uncovers evidence of a variety of schemes to swing our elections—rampant corruption, conspiracies to block millions of voters, privatized elections run by biased officials, misinformation, voter I.D. obstacles, malfunctioning voting machines, legislated voter suppression, polling place confusion, and more.”
There will be a Los Angeles World Premiere Screening of FREE FOR ALL! at the Clarity Theater in Beverly Hills, California, on Thursday, June 26th.
The film, which is co-executive produced by Richard Ray Perez (co-director of “Unprecedented”), recently held a special preview screening for independent media at the National Conference for Media Reform.
About Video the Vote
Video the Vote (www.videothevote.org) is a group of volunteer citizen journalists strengthening democracy by observing elections and sharing the results. Video the Vote footage from the last U.S. Election is featured in John Wellington Ennis’ feature documentary FREE FOR ALL! The organization is protecting the American vote by being “eyes and ears” where ballots are cast and counted on Election Day. Any irregularities that occur at polling places and boards of elections are reported, enabling the media and public to watch-dog the electoral process. Video the Vote was created by Ennis, Ian Inaba of the Guerrilla News Network (and award-winning filmmaker of “American Blackout”) and James Rucker of ColorOfChange.org. Video the Vote partners include Common Cause, the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, The League of Young Voters Education Fund, People for the American Way Foundation and Rock the Vote.
For more information, please visit www.FreeForAll.tv or www.videothevote.com.
###
The FREE FOR ALL! trailer can be seen on www.FreeForAll.tv or on You Tube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eRJbbtCbF8
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Los Angeles & National Media: Heather Burgett at 310.452.9133 or heather@hlbpr.net
New York-based Media: Jennifer Kahn at 201.286.1979 or jenkahnpr@gmail.com
Washington DC & National Media: Cari Reisinger at 209.736.6769 or cari@prhum.com
For Immediate Release:
ROGER EBERT GIVES “FREE FOR ALL!” THREE STARS
ELECTION PROTECTION FILM REVEALS KENNETH BLACKWELL & MIKE CONNELL’s roles in 2004 election
Filmmaker and Citizen Journalist John Wellington Ennis Uncovered Election Corruption Details Long Before Lawsuit Against Blackwell for “Racially Discriminatory Practices” Against Ohio Voters
LOS ANGELES (October 5, 2008)—Filmmaker and citizen journalist John Wellington Ennis’ Shoot First Inc. (www.shootfirstinc.com) presents the political documentary “FREE FOR ALL!,” which is being released on DVD Tuesday, October 7, 2008. Famed film critic Roger Ebert just awarded the film three stars (out of four) in a Chicago Sun-Times review (http://www.rogerebert.com), calling the film “engrossing, even enraging.” The review highlights former Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth J. Blackwell, the man at the nucleus of political corruption that “FREE FOR ALL!” reveals. The film also exposes IT Technician Mike Connell’s role, resulting in a subpoena, which alleges that vote-tampering during the 2004 presidential election resulted in civil rights violations.
Election integrity journalist Brad Friedman’s story "Who Is Mike Connell? A Clip from 'FREE FOR ALL’ Gives You an Idea" (http://www.bradblog.com/?p=6220) details how Ennis uncovered the information, long before Connell was subpoenaed or Blackwell was charged for “racially discriminatory practices” against Ohio voters.
The case, known as King Lincoln Bronzeville Neighborhood Association v. Blackwell, was filed against Blackwell on August 31, 2006, by Columbus attorneys Clifford Arnebeck, Robert Fitrakis—both featured in “FREE FOR ALL!” The Raw Story details the lawsuit in an article titled “Republican IT consultant subpoenaed in case alleging tampering with 2004 election” published at:
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Republican_IT_consultant_subpoenaed_in_case_0929.html
As a co-founder of Video The Vote (www.videothevote.org), Ennis is actively involved with election protection initiatives around the nation.
Ennis states, “There are already numerous cases of voter purging and misinformation that I have documented for Video the Vote in 2008. The kind of disenfranchisement I discovered in making “FREE FOR ALL!” is back in style, leading up to this election: partisan officials, unprepared polling places and dubious voting machines. The time to fix our elections and confirm registration is NOW—election day is too late."
Just in time for the 2008 Presidential Elections, “FREE FOR ALL!” uncovers evidence of voter suppression schemes that swing U.S. Elections. The feature-length independent film features Ennis in “one dude’s quest for democracy” with BBC investigative journalist and best-selling author Greg Palast. Using satire, comedy and animation, the film explores the concept of truth itself, questioning what we often take for granted as the basis for facts.
The film, which is co-executive produced by Richard Ray Perez (co-director of “Unprecedented”) and Holly Mosher (“Side Effects”), was fist screened for independent media at the National Conference for Media Reform.
The FREE FOR ALL! DVD with Extras is available for purchase on the website for $20.08. Bonus footage includes a featurette on Blackwell. The DVD also features Spanish subtitles and English closed-captioning.
For more information, please visit www.freeforall.tv — where the film began streaming online for free on July 4, 2008.
###
MEDIA CONTACT: Heather Burgett at 310.452.9133 or heather@hlbpr.net