Millennial filmmaker/actor Dylan Playfair goes on a journey to find out why his generation isn’t turning up at the polls.
The Drop: Why Young People Don’t Vote is produced by Kensington Communications and Triple Threat Films for TVO, CPAC and other broadcasters.
WATCH ON DEMAND (OUTSIDE CANADA)
AWARDS
Winner, Palm Springs International Film Festival
SYNOPSIS
It’s easy to assume that young people would rather party than get involved in politics. And it’s easy to blame young people themselves for their relatively low voter turnout. But is that the whole story? Millennial filmmaker/actor Dylan Playfair isn’t so sure. He wants to explore the assumptions made about his generation.
In his home province of British Columbia, Dylan takes part in a dubious scheme to coax university students to go to the polls. Traveling to Toronto, during a municipal race that features Rob and Doug Ford, he meets a plucky teenage mayoral candidate. Then on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, he gets a hot tip that allows him to put Justin Trudeau on the spot.
In the lead-up to U.S. mid-term elections, Dylan travels to North Carolina to meet young activists as they struggle to remove barriers to voting. He visits Ferguson Missouri, still in turmoil after the police shooting of Michael Brown, where he meets young leaders of Black Lives Matter. Throughout his journey – including a chaotic trip to Burning Man – Dylan is exposed to a wide spectrum of political views as he strives to discover what would convince more young people to vote or… perhaps even better… find more direct ways to engage.
CREDITS
Director
KYLE MCCACHEN
Producer
ROBERT LANG
Executive Producers
ROBERT LANG
DYLAN PLAYFAIR
IAN WADDELL
Executive Producer, TVO
JANE JANKOVIC
Executive Producer, CPAC
PETER VAN DUSEN
Co-producer
KYLE MCCACHEN
Editor
EOIN HARRIS
Writers
LEVI MCCACHEN
MICHAEL SCHULTZ
Story Editor
ALLEN BOOTH
Music by
BEDTRACKS
Original Composition
OLIVER JOHNSON
ROB MCALLISTER
JAMES BOYD
ZAC KLEIZA
Visual Researcher
ELSPETH DOMVILLE
Researcher
SANDRA WHITELEY
Production (Vancouver)
DOP: MIKE BAIER
Sound: ALEX RAKHIT
Coordinator: EMILY RAKHIT
Camera: SPENCER VILLAGE
Assistant: KYLE GEST, CHRIS AITKEN
Production (Ottawa, Ferguson, Burning Man)
DOP: KYLE MCCACHEN
Sound: DYLAN PLAYFAIR
Production (Toronto, North Carolina)
DOP: DEREK ROGERS
Sound: HUAN NGUYEN, BENI HARPER
Assistant Camera: RAJ NANDY
Online Edit
EGGPLANT PICTURES
Sound Editor / Mixer
DAMON DE SZEGHEO
OAK RECORDING STUDIO
Transcriptions
SARAH HAGER
Colourist
MARK DRIVER
Post Production Coordinator
FLORENCIA MARTINEZ-CARRANZA
Independent Production Officer, TVO
LINDA FONG
Business Affairs Coordinator
ADRIANNA CRIFO
Production Accountant
MICHELE DAVIS
Bookkeeper
LISA MCVEIGH
Production Office
ATEFEH SADREDDIN
Kickstarter Manager
CHERYL GUDZ
Produced by
KENSINGTON COMMUNICATIONS INC., Toronto
TRIPLE THREAT FILMS INC., Vancouver
Produced in association with
TVO
CPAC
Produced with the participation of
ROGERS DOCUMENTARY FUND
CANADA MEDIA FUND
ONTARIO MEDIA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
CANADIAN FILM OR VIDEO PRODUCTION TAX CREDIT