10.28.20

Visit http://www.vimeo.com/ondemand/thunderdomeusa to watch the film!

Thunderdome, USA is a grassroots documentary shot between July 2015 and November 2016 in a rural “coal country” becoming fracking country part of Western, Pennsylvania and Jimmy Stewart’s hometown- Indiana, Pennsylvania. Filmmaker sisters Lee and Maria Ziesche return to Indiana where they worked to re-elect President Barack Obama in 2012 to try to understand the legacy of the grassroots movement that elected him and their own disappointments in his presidency.

They end up following a Trump supporter, a Hillary supporter and a Bernie supporter who are all deeply involved in local organizing and the eccentric people of Indiana, PA and surrounding counties through one of the most intense and shocking election cycles America has ever seen, exploring issues of racism, fossil fuel dependency and local democracy.

As some are saying that Pennsylvania could be the swing state that decides the election and issues like fracking have become controversial flash points, Thunderdome, USA is a crucial piece in understanding electoral politics and local organizing in rural America and how to stop repeating the same mistakes of the past.