Amazon acquires Stacey Abrams produced voter suppression doc
The yet-to-be-titled documentary from production company Story Syndicate will be directed by Oscar-nominated filmmakers Liz Garbus and Lisa Cortés and will stream on Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Studios has obtained the worldwide rights to an upcoming voting rights documentary that will feature the insights from politician and lawyer Stacey Abrams.
According to NBC News, the yet-to-be-titled documentary from production company Story Syndicate will be directed by Oscar-nominated filmmakers Liz Garbus and Lisa Cortés and will stream on Amazon Prime Video following its initial theatrical release.
Stacey Abrams, former Democratic leader in the Georgia House of Representatives and founder and chair of Fair Fight Action, prepares to testify during the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties hearing on the Voting Rights Act on Tuesday, June 25, 2019. (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)
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In addition to being highlighted in the film, Abrams will also serve as co-producer on the project along with Garbus and Cortés.
“It’s a monster movie where you think you’ve mortally wounded the beast, but it keeps rearing its ugly head, as last week’s primary in Georgia so painfully demonstrated. And nothing less than democracy is at stake,” Garbus and Cortés said in a statement.
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In the film, the duo traces the history of voter suppression from the civil rights movement and the 1960s all the way to the present. But for Abrams, who made history by becoming the first African American woman nominated for governor by a major party when she became the Democratic nominee in Georgia’s 2018 gubernatorial election – this subject hits close to home.
She narrowly lost to Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who refused to resign as secretary of state while campaigning and who she believes manipulated the election system through acts of voter suppression.
While many believe she was robbed of her chance to be governor, Abrams used her experiences as an impetus to found Fair Fight 2020, an initiative that seeks to educate voters about their rights and enlighten them ln what they can do to aid the fight against voter suppression.
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