Pricele$$ (2012)

Description Habitat Media - Pricele$$ (2012)
TV Documentary - 56 min - Documentary
Director: Steve Cowan

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2343687/
http://www.pricelessmovie.org/

It can cost millions to run for Congress. Where does it come from? What does it buy?

A look at how special interest money shapes policy in our country, and what can be done to put the power back in the hands of voters.

PRICELE$$ is a filmmaker’s personal journey across America to answer a burning question: why are some of our government’s most basic policies, like food and energy, so out-of-date . . . and can anything be done about it? Sharing the suspicion of fellow-citizens, including a class of young civics students, that campaign money is involved, the filmmakers set out on a spellbinding — and at times hilarious — ride from rural America to the halls of Congress to find out more, because democracy is a precious resource. In fact, it’s PRICELESS.

Habitat Media’s new documentary shines a light on the corridors in our nation’s capitol to reveal how campaign money from deep-pocket special interests can influence both, our electoral process and national policies like food and energy. In addition to time spent with seasoned lawmakers, lobbyists, and a few dauntless citizen watchdogs, the filmmakers visit farmers and an unusual group of Iraq War veterans with strong opinions about policies that have changed their lives. Meanwhile, a classroom full of amazingly savvy civics students provides comic relief. PRICELE$$ also offers a behind-the-scenes look at Arizona’s road-test of an electoral reform that some observers believe could free Congress from time-consuming fundraising and the corrosive influence of special interests and their lobbyists. Narrated by filmmaker Steve Cowan, PRICELE$$ was made on location in Washington D.C., New York, Florida, Kansas, Iowa, Wyoming, Arizona, California and Oregon.