Wanda English Burnett, Editor

This election will go down in history for several reasons and Ripley County residents will be documented on film thanks to a New York film company that has been filming in the county producing a documentary on the voting process.

David Deschamps, one of the three producers working on The Voting Film Project, was in Versailles recently and noted that the project is shaping up nicely, thanks to Indiana being one of the swing states for the first time in many years.

“The excitement here is phenomenal,” Deschamps told The Versailles Republican, in an interview at the home of DeeDee Benkie in Versailles. He was impressed with all the signage in people’s yards, and the way they wear their patriotism on clothing. “You don’t have this in New York,” he noted, adding, “people take politics very seriously here.”

Wanting to put together a documentary on the voting process, Deschamps noted their team went to work looking for the perfect setting. “We were looking for characters,” he noted, saying they traveled to five states - Pennsylvania, Florida, Missouri, Virginia and Indiana, going to national conventions for both Democrats and Republicans. “We thought the film would be more interesting from people’s viewpoints, rather than simply putting together a lot of statistics,” he noted.

While at a national convention in Indiana, Deschamps’ team met Mike Marshal from North Vernon, who would represent the Democrats. They were still looking for a Republican “character” when Deschamps ran into DeeDee Benkie. “She was just sitting there drinking coffee,” he remembered. He went up to her and began talking about politics. He said she was “by far the most interesting person” he had talked with at the convention and they had interviewed almost 50 people. He was sold and the project that had already been three years in the making, was on the road. Benkie was at the National Convention serving as the Indiana National Republican Chairperson.

It all fell into place when Deschamps found out that North Vernon, and Versailles were only separated by a few miles. “It just seemed that it was meant to be,” he noted.
The film crew has been in town for several days and filmed the entire proceedings on Election Day, the courthouse, voting places, and the final moments when winners were declared. They had plans to be in the area until November 5.

When the final product is completed, the goal is to educate people about the entire voting process. It will take viewers from the beginning to the end, showing in a bi-partisan way how America votes. There will be little-known and misunderstood aspects of the election process included in the documentary that will showcase various personal stories.

To jazz things up, Mo Rocca is hosting the film. He is known for his political humor. He was a five year correspondent for The Daily Show, and appears as a commentator on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, CBS Sunday Morning with Charles Osgood and NPR’s Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me.

Leslie Farrell, Emmy and Peabody winning filmmaker, is directing the production. Some of her work such as African American Lives, has been touted as the “most exciting and stirring documentary on any subject to appear on television in a long time.” Another project premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and went on to win more than 25 international awards.

“The dream is to premier at the Sundance Film Festival next year,” noted Deschamps. While he wasn’t sure of the release date yet, the goal is to have the film edited by July 2009 and ready to hit the airwaves.

Excitement was growing around Ripley County as the film crew came through this past week, filming and talking with a number of people. Deschamps noted that Ripley County Clerk Ginger Bradford was great as she headed the voting process in the county and took time out for the film crew as well. “She’s definitely fantastic,” he commented.

Thankful for Benkie’s work with the group, Deschamps credits her for even coming to Ripley County. He said she has the political knowledge and willingness to volunteer like nothing he’s ever seen before. Benkie hosted a group of history students from Mr. Newman’s class from South Ripley at her home last Tuesday, October 28 as the film crew videotaped some of their ideas and views, getting input from some first time voters and soon-to-be voters.

Editor’s note: The project will be one you won’t want to miss when it is completed. There will be local people telling the story that so many people take for granted. When the film airs locally, it will be published in this newspaper.