In the United States, a political action committee (PAC) is a tax-exempt 527 organization that pools campaign contributions from members and donates those funds to campaigns for or against candidates, ballot initiatives, or legislation. The legal term PAC was created in pursuit of campaign finance reform in the United States. Democracies of other countries use different terms for the units of campaign spending or spending on political competition. At the U.S. federal level, an organization becomes a PAC when it receives or spends more than $1,000 for the purpose of influencing a federal election, and registers with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), according to the Federal Election Campaign Act as amended by the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002. At the state level, an organization becomes a PAC according to the state's election laws.
The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, commonly known as the McCain–Feingold Act or BCRA, is a United States federal law that amended the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, which regulates the financing of political campaigns. Its chief sponsors were senators Russ Feingold (D-WI) and John McCain (R-AZ). The law became effective on 6 November 2002, and the new legal limits became effective on January 1, 2003.
An independent expenditure, in elections in the United States, is a political campaign communication that expressly advocates for the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate that is not made in cooperation, consultation or concert with; or at the request or suggestion of a candidate, candidate's authorized committee, or political party. If a candidates agent, authorized committee, party, or an "agent" for one of these groups becomes "materially involved", the expenditure is not independent.
PBS Distribution (PBSd), formerly known as PBS Ventures, PBS Home Video, and Public Media Distribution, is the home distribution unit of American television network PBS. The company manages streaming channels, video on demand releases, and sells home videos of PBS series and movies and PBS Kids series in various formats, as well as programming from other public television distributors such as American Public Television and the National Educational Telecommunications Association.
The financing of electoral campaigns in the United States happens at the federal, state, and local levels by contributions from individuals, corporations, political action committees, and sometimes the government. Campaign spending has risen steadily at least since 1990.
Participant Media, LLC is an American film production company founded in 2004 by Jeffrey Skoll, dedicated to entertainment intended to spur social change. The company finances and co-produces film and television content, as well as digital entertainment through its subsidiary SoulPancake, which the company acquired in 2016.
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. 310 (2010), is a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States regarding campaign finance laws and free speech under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The court held 5–4 that the freedom of speech clause of the First Amendment prohibits the government from restricting independent expenditures for political campaigns by corporations, including nonprofit corporations, labor unions, and other associations.
The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,660 attending in 2016. It takes place each January in Park City, Utah; Salt Lake City, Utah; and at the Sundance Resort, and acts as a showcase for new work from American and international independent filmmakers. The festival consists of competitive sections for American and international dramatic and documentary films, both feature films and short films, and a group of out-of-competition sections, including NEXT, New Frontier, Spotlight, Midnight, Sundance Kids, From the Collection, Premieres, and Documentary Premieres. Many films premiering at Sundance have gone on to be nominated and win Oscars such as Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor in a Leading Role.
American Tradition Partnership (ATP), formerly known as Western Tradition Partnership, is a conservative 501(c)4 advocacy group in the United States targeting what it describes as "environmental extremism." ATP has also initiated litigation targeting campaign finance regulations. It maintains a PO Box in Washington, D.C., and has no physical office.
American Tradition Partnership, Inc. v. Bullock, 2011 MT 328, is a decision by the Montana Supreme Court ruling that the broad free speech protections given to corporations in Citizens United v. FEC do not apply to Montana's campaign finance laws. The United States Supreme Court reversed the Montana Supreme Court's decision in American Tradition Partnership, Inc. v. Bullock, 567, U.S. 516 (2012), in a short, per curiam opinion issued without oral argument. The court wrote only that the legal issue had already been precluded by Citizens United, and this case offered no new arguments and failed to distinguish that prior decision.
Joe Brewster is an American psychiatrist and filmmaker who directs and produces fiction films, documentaries and new media focused on the experiences of communities of color.
In politics, particularly the politics of the United States, dark money refers to spending to influence elections, public policy, and political discourse, where the source of the money is not disclosed to the public.
Moneyocracy is a 2012 documentary film about Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. 310 (2010),which was a landmark United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that the First Amendment prohibited the government from restricting independent political expenditures by corporations and unions. The film explores how the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision has dramatically changed the U.S. Campaign Finance Laws and lead to the most expensive Elections in the United States. The film describes the systemic corruption of the United States democracy and the consequences of that systemic corruption on the U.S. democracy and the electorate.
Citizen Koch is a 2013 film produced and directed by Tia Lessin and Carl Deal, concerning the political influence of American plutocrats on the political process following the US Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. FEC which granted corporations the ability to anonymously spend unlimited money to influence public policy and elections. The film focuses on the eponymous Koch brothers, in particular, and their political and financial support for Wisconsin governor Scott Walker, who represents the Citizen Koch in the title. The film chronicles the rise of the Tea Party movement in response to the election of the first African-American President in 2008, and the strategic attacks on organized labor by Gov. Walker and Koch political operatives in other states as a strategy to eliminate liberal opposition.
Paul Bernon is an American businessman and film producer. His film Best Kept Secret was awarded a Peabody Award in 2014.
Kimberly Reed is an American film director and producer who is best known for her documentaries Prodigal Sons and Dark Money which premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. In 2007, Filmmaker magazine named her one of the "25 New Faces of Independent Film."
The Montana Free Press (MTFP) is an American non-profit news organization based in Helena, Montana. As an investigative journalism organization, it focuses on uncovering non-transparent bureaucratic processes and institutions.
XTR is an American film production company founded in 2019 by Bryn Mooser. The company is best known for producing films Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado (2020), Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets (2020), The Fight (2020), 76 Days (2020), and Ascension (2021).
Black Mothers Love & Resist is an American documentary film released in 2022.
Katy Gale Chevigny is an American documentary filmmaker. She has produced or directed more than 30 documentary films and won a number of awards for her work.
