The Thunderdome

The Thunderdome- A fight for democracy in rural America. Over a year out from the 2016 elections, sisters Lee and Maria Ziesche head back to Indiana, Pennsylvania where they were based three years earlier working to re-elect President Barack Obama, to investigate American politics and progress. Shot between the Fourth of July and Election Day in November, they follow Judy, Tammy and Eric, three folks from Indiana who are fighting for democracy in rural Western Pennsylvania. Weaved in between their stories are the many Jimmy-Stewart loving residents of Indiana County who provide a varying view of politics, religions and visions for their community and country. During the 2012 election their turf was nicknamed "The Thunderdome" because it was so anti-Obama. Stop the War on Coal, Fire Obama signs were everywhere. This is the area of Pennsylvania that President Obama said "It's not surprising, then, they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations." Yet the sisters found an impassioned group of volunteers who put in hundreds of hours knocking on doors and making phone calls because they believed in the change President Obama represented. The film explores the grassroots legacy of the Obama campaigns and also the frustrations of unfulfilled campaign promises.