Bozeman Magazine

This political thriller examines one of the greatest present threats to American democracy: the influence of untraceable corporate money on our elections and elected officials. The film takes viewers to Montana-a frontline in the fight to preserve fair elections nationwide-to follow an intrepid local journalist working to expose the real-life impacts of the US Supreme Court's Citizens United decision. Montana has spent more than a century trying to keep its politics clean. After a brazen attempt by copper magnate William A. Clark to bribe his way into the United States Senate, the state prohibited corporate campaign financing in 1912. Everything changed with the U.S. Supreme Court's infamous Citizens United ruling in 2010, which classified campaign expenditures by corporations as free speech and allowed donors to remain undisclosed. As a result, unlimited, anonymous "dark money" began to flood elections nationwide. Hailed by Variety film critic Dennis Harvey as "a potent… harrowing portrait of democracy under threat," this gripping story uncovers the shocking and vital truth of how American elections are bought and sold. Directed and produced by Helena native, Kimberly Reed, the film is told through the lives of real people and makes a concerted effort to share stories from both sides of the aisle. Subjects interviewed include investigative reporter John Adams, Senator Jon Tester, Montana Supreme Court Justice Mike Wheat, Governor Steve Bullock, former Montana Senate Majority Leader Art Wittich, campaign law enforcement official Jonathan Moti, FEC Commissioner Ann Ravel, plus many more. Guest speakers TBA.