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Screening and discussion of Uncounted at Petit Jean

See This: Political Documentary

By Spencer Watson (Contact)

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Uncounted: The New Math of American Elections

The Winthrop Rockefeller Institute at Petit Jean Mountain launches its “Reel Stories” public affairs documentary series with a showing of the new documentary Uncounted: The New Math of American Elections at 7 p.m. Friday. The 80-minute film will be followed by a panel discussion featuring the Emmy-winning director of the documentary, David Earnhardt.

“Basically, we came up with the idea of doing a public affairs documentary series, and this is the first in the series,” said Joe Foster, program director at the Rockefeller Institute, who noted that Uncounted, which explores voting discrepancies in the 2004 and 2006 elections, was chosen for its timeliness, what with another round of elections in the fall.

Foster said the series has three purposes: to encourage civic engagement, to enhance the media literacy of those attending by exposing them to the documentary genre, and to explore the art of the documentary itself.

“We will be discussing the subject matter of the film, but a lot of it will be talking about what goes into making it,” he said, noting the uptick in public interest in documentaries after the high profile releases of films like Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11.

Rounding out the panel with the director of the film will be Jay Barth, a professor of politics and international studies at Hendrix College and State Sen. Jeff Smith of Missouri, who, in addition to having knowledge of the election process, was the subject of a documentary, 2006's Can Mr. Smith Still Get to Washington Anymore?.

Foster said the panel will take questions during the discussion, which he said he anticipates will last about an hour and a half, though he said the depth and length of it will really be left up to the audience.

“We've got the panel here all night, so it will go as long as people want to stay.”

The summer series of documentaries will continue with Spilled Mike: Our Milk, Our Farmers, Our Arkansas on Friday, July 25, and conclude with Who Killed the Electric Car? on Friday, August 29. For more information or to register, visit www.uawri.org/page/277/reel-stories. Admission to each show is $10.