Pricele$$
(26 minutes) USA

Director/Producer: Steve Cowan

Description:
From Emmy-nominated Habitat Media comes Pricele$$, a film exposing the real consequences of an out-of-control electoral system in the US that can obligate congressional leaders to giant industries that bankroll their election campaigns. The filmmakers follow a river of money through two national policies: energy and agriculture.  In addition to time spent with family farmers and an unusual group of Iraq War veterans—sense of humor intact—the filmmakers visit seasoned lawmakers, lobbyists, clean energy entrepreneurs, vigilant citizens and a classroom full of savvy third graders.  Pricele$$ also takes a behind-the-scenes look at one state’s road-testing of a reform that some observers believe can free Congress from the corrosive influence of big-money donors and a Capitol overrun by lobbyists. 

Biography:
Producer/Director Steve Cowan founded Habitat Media in 2003 as a nonprofit production group to create media that inspire viewers as both citizens and consumers, to help protect natural resources, and to encourage sustainable development. Together with cinematographer Barry Schienberg, the team’s credits include a landmark PBS documentary film series that reached millions of prime-time viewers worldwide with a call to change the way our oceans are fished. The Emmy-nominated series helped launch an international seafood consumer campaign, win US Congressional support for a ban of destructive fishing gear, and was screened on Capitol Hill, in the White House, the United Nations, in aquaria, natural history museums, and zoos throughout the world.  The current work, Pricele$$, was undertaken to address a problem that is at the root of countless environmental issues––flawed public policy.

Contact Information:
Schools: Bullfrog Films
E-mail: john@bullfrogfilms.com
Web site: www.bullfrogfilms.com

Home viewers: Habitat Media
E-mail: steve@habitatmedia.org
Web site: www.habitatmedia.org