“Gerrymandering,” the film, may not sound like an action flick. But Director Jeff Reichert has done his best to bring thrills and drama to a particularly troubling political issue. “We just focused on the stories that were interesting,” Reichert told POLITICO of his method for assembling the documentary. One of those narratives involved an assembly member in Brooklyn who, after being drawn out of his district by a member of his own party, was forced to move to stay in the election.
“Gerrymandering” will screen in D.C. on Thursday for several political figures who have a stake in the practice of redrawing district lines — including Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who features prominently in the film for the work he’s done on California’s Proposition 11, which calls for a special commission to undertake the task of redistricting. Former Democratic Rep. Martin Frost — who served in Congress from 1978 to 2003 before he was ousted by Republicans working on behalf of then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay — will also appear at the E Street Cinema. (Reichert told POLITICO that DeLay also figures prominently in the film.) Rep. John Tanner, who has introduced legislation multiple times that would end political gerrymandering, will also be on hand for a post-screening discussion.
“To a certain extent, D.C. really is ground zero for all this stuff,” Reichert said. “It could be our most critical audience yet.”
The film includes interviews with several politicians and captures outrageous stories of redistricting attempts, as well as efforts to create legislation to improve the current methods of drawing political districts. Reichert believes his film should draw a bipartisan audience, he said, given that gerrymandering is practiced not only when one party wants to manipulate the system for its own benefit, but also when lawmakers within the same party are competing with one another for power, as with the case of the Brooklyn assemblyman.
But “Gerrymandering” isn’t just for a politically savvy crowd. Reichert hopes his film will help educate the public — especially because districts will be under scrutiny after 2010 census results are compiled.
“[The parties] are geared up for the same warfare,” he said. “And the reason why this film came out now is so that it’s available so citizens can more closely police what legislators are doing.”
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