From director Billy Corben comes the high-octane feature documentary 537 Votes chronicling the political machinations that led to the unprecedented, contested outcome of the 2000 presidential election. What transpired was a chaotic voter recount in Florida that ended with George W. Bush winning by a razor-thin margin. The film will debut on Wednesday, October 21 (9:00-11:00 p.m. ET/PT) on HBO.
537 Votes details how the international custody battle over six-year old Elian Gonzalez triggered a political earthquake in Miami-Dade County in 2000, swaying the outcome of the presidential election. After election day, with the margin of victory hinged on Florida, George W. Bush won the presidency by a mere 537 votes. With humor, verve and new insights, the documentary exposes the key players who contributed to the chaos in the contested Florida county, including interviews from insiders and political operatives at the time such as Roger Stone, Joe Geller, Chairman of the Miami-Dade County Democratic Party, and Al Cárdenas, Chairman of the Florida Republican Party.
“Usually, important movies that people need to see can feel like medicine, but Billy and Alfred are simply incapable of being anything but entertaining and funny,” said executive producer Adam McKay. “When we heard they were making a film with a uniquely Miami perspective on the 2000 recount, we really wanted to support it in any way possible.”
“The Miami of today is the America of tomorrow,” says director Billy Corben. “That’s why this is such a timely and relevant story and there are no better partners to tell it with than Adam McKay and HBO.”