Win, Lose, or Draw Straws
The doors are closed. There are no more screenings of this film.
Synopsis: Did you know the next President of the United States could be decided by drawing names from a hat? Win, Lose or Draw Straws is a feature length documentary exposing one particular oddity of the US election system. The increasing existence of and wildly varied ways of determining elections that end in perfect ties. Told by the people who experienced the emotional highs and lows of a political campaign that was determined by a random game of chance and exposing the way random luck affects our lives from local races all the way to the White House.
Travel the country to uncover the most peculiar election tiebreakers in American history while exposing the backroom dealing and insider trading of local politics. Along the way we meet colorful characters who have participated in, worked on, and voted or not voted in real elections that ended in perfect ties. We will meet the woman who lost a bowl-drawing in Virginia that shifted the power of government and nearly installed a new governor, We will delve into the Mississippi house election that swung the super-majority control after being reversed three times. Investigate the coin flips between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Iowa caucus. Coupled with historical context from the presidential campaign of 1800 to the Bush-Gore debacle in Florida 2000, and the 2016 Iowa and Nevada caucus coin flips.and high-card draws.
We will learn explore important themes such as why people want to seek office in the first place and the cultural perceptions of luck, destiny and America herself. We sincerely hope to open discussions about this topic and encourage electoral participation in 2020 and beyond by showing a more interesting side of our political system.
Language
Run Time
Directed by
Produced by
Jon Hibey
Executive Producer
Brian Walsh
Director's Bio
Casey Phillips is a writer, director and political activist best know for creating advertisements for and setting the strategy of winning political campaigns from coast to coast. Born on a cattle ranch in rural South Dakota, Phillips was first drawn to the industry after visiting the set of Dances With Wolves which was filmed near the one room schoolhouse he attended. Having written and produced more than 2000 pieces of short form video creative he has transitioned into more long form storytelling. Phillips is a former collegiate athlete and amateur strongman competitor who lives and works in Alexandria, Virginia (2020).
