Shugah Works

Shugah Works is a production company that focuses on the connection between society and the individual. We approach projects with original thinking, avoiding partisanship and group-think. The company creed emphasizes creativity, and a dedication to technical excellence. 

For ten years I have researched, investigated and reported on systemic issues with U.S. elections that discourage and prevent voter participation. I was reporting on problems with election security long before it was a hot button issue. In 2008, I was the first filmmaker to video Alex Halderman's hack of the AccuVote TS, and that footage was shown in our first feature length documentary.

Our debut film "Holler Back - [not] Voting in an American Town" was featured in The Hollywood Reporter as part of a group of "thoughtful and provocative" films being made by women. It received a Best Documentary award,  screened at colleges around the country, including Harvard, and aired on public television.

The film explores reasons why more people don’t vote and participate in politics. Revealing interviews with non-voters draw you in as one after another they express their anger and lack of faith in a corrupt and unresponsive system. With impressive detail and considerable humor, the tight and highly charged film focuses on the entrenched problems of U.S. elections that discourage participation: from the twisted complexities of the electoral college to easily hackable voting equipment.

I've contributed to Emmy-award winning coverage and am a two-time recipient of the Edward R. Murrow award. My work has been featured in The Hollywood Reporter and Politico. I was on the editing team of the HBO documentary "Gideon's Army," which was nominated for an Emmy and received the Editing Award for U.S. Documentary at its Sundance premiere. Other film credits include  "Are We Not Men?" - The DEVO documentary, "Joe Papp in 5 Acts" (PBS/American Masters) and "Slamnation" by five-time Emmy winner Paul Devlin. Network News assignments include Nightline, The CBS Evening News, Sunday Morning, The Today Show and Good Morning America. I also developed and created voter registration PSA's for VH1 with Triumph the Insult Comic Dog. And on a (slightly) more serious note, I produced & edited profiles of Democratic presidential primary candidates for MSNBC.

Reports on election hacking that I produced & shot received over 4 million views. 

How to hack optical scan voting machines used in 24 states | Now This News

How to hack touchscreen machines used all over the U.S. | Now This News

DEF CON - HACKING VOTING VILLAGE | Now This News

You can watch that one in 16x9 here.

How to protect your vote from hackers | Now This Future (consultant)

We are in production with a feature-length documentary: "The Freedom Cage - Part 1 #OccupyWallStreet" charts the creation and disruption of Occupy Wall Street. The film’s intimate access to core members of the Occupy movement provides a candid window into the passion that both fueled and sabotaged their momentum; while detailing the relentless surveillance and brutal arrests by police and federal agencies that systematically dismantled and ultimately shut down the protests. The verite’ narrative provides an in-depth examination of Occupy’s legacy, how its message began with a group of Anarchist radicals, sowed the seeds for Black Lives Matter and is now influencing mainstream American politics.'