--- title: 'Unforgiven': A Film About a Disenfranchised Voter description: For Roderick Kemp in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the 2008 presidential election was the starting point of a fight he continues to this day canonical: https://time.com/4552390/unforgiven-a-short-film-about-a-disenfranchised-voter-in-florida/ author: TIME Staff article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-11-02T16:30:42.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-07T06:52:50.944Z article:section: Ideas og:title: 'Unforgiven': A Short Film About a Disenfranchised Voter og:description: For Roderick Kemp, voting rights are a deeply personal cause og:url: https://time.com/4552390/unforgiven-a-short-film-about-a-disenfranchised-voter-in-florida/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt612aa17045e06dfb/6988acb4428a9e7d8acd4dac/unforgiven-movie-still.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1483 og:image:height: 834 og:image:alt: Still image from Unforgiven, the film og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 'Unforgiven': A Short Film About a Disenfranchised Voter twitter:description: For Roderick Kemp, voting rights are a deeply personal cause twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt612aa17045e06dfb/6988acb4428a9e7d8acd4dac/unforgiven-movie-still.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 'Unforgiven': How This Man in Florida Lost His Voting Rights > Sponsored content. 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A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=6c5762df-d523-4153-b90d-7a5986d375e8&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Unforgiven [Watch (HLS stream): Unforgiven](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/pI5PQ06j.m3u8) (7:18)  _Published 2016-11-01. 'Unforgiven': a short film about a disenfranchised voter in Florida. The film profiles Roderick Kemp, a Florida real estate agent who was convicted of a felony in the 1980s, and realized much later he had lost his right to vote._ by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Nov 2, 2016 4:30 PM UTC 'Unforgiven': a short film about a disenfranchised voter in Florida. The film profiles Roderick Kemp, a Florida real estate agent who was convicted of a felony in the 1980s, and realized much later he had lost his right to vote. by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Nov 2, 2016 4:30 PM UTC _Unforgiven,_ filmed by Adeel Ahmed, Ashwin Gandbhir and Alexandra Clinton of Surya Productions in collaboration with the [Florida Center for Investigative Reporting](http://fcir.org/), profiles Roderick Kemp, a Florida real estate agent who was convicted of a felony in the 1980s, and realized much later he had lost his right to vote. Now, he has made fighting [disenfranchisement](http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/07/north-carolina-voting-rights-law/493649/) his cause. Co-directors Adeel Ahmed, Ashwin Gandbhir and Producer Alexandra Clinton spoke to [TIME](http://time.com/) about Kemp’s story and what he hopes the film will accomplish. **Given all of the story lines in this particular election cycle, what drew you to this story?** From the beginning, we wanted to tell a story that shed light on the challenges the formerly incarcerated face. In doing our research, we met Rod, whose story was relevant to the election because it highlighted voter disenfranchisement, and was also unique, due to the fact that he served his sentence over 30 years ago and only recently had his voting rights revoked. Rod’s story, to us, has a humanity that goes beyond politics. During this election, we’ve seen other issues polarize Republicans and Democrats. For example, there’s been talk of a “rigged” system. This story can relate to some of those concerns, but approaches it from a different angle. **As filmmakers, what was the most challenging part of the production?** Finding balance with our storytelling was the biggest challenge because of the topic and the fact that we are telling a story that happened in the past. We often found ourselves asking, How do we keep an audience engaged if there’s no real-time action? Our goal of creating a film with a personal, cinematic aesthetic had to play well with the politically charged, information-heavy issue of voter disenfranchisement. We didn’t want to get stuck in a straightforward, newsy style of storytelling, but we also didn’t want to be so esoteric and detailed and miss the larger point. Finding the right balance took a bit of work in the edit. We shot over 12 hours of footage. **From your perspective, how does what happened to Mr. Kemp relate to the broader discussion of voting rights in the United States?** Rod’s situation speaks more broadly to the misinformation and confusion surrounding the voting process. All voters face different obstacles in exercising their right to vote—voter ID laws, aging voting technology, long lines at the polls or time off from work to travel to a polling place. Also, Rod’s story speaks to the need for support for returning citizens during the re-entry phase and a straightforward clemency process. **What was your creative and storytelling approach with this particular story?** First, we were mindful of our medium—a documentary short for the web, where often the viewer’s attention span is tested. While creatively we wanted the narrative to play out with a bit of suspense and intrigue, we knew we didn’t have the luxury of losing the viewer for even a moment. **What is your ultimate goal with producing a documentary like this?** Our goal is to present a poignant story that sheds light on an under-reported issue that affects many Americans, particularly people of color. The hope is that the film brings relevance and deeper knowledge to an issue that some may know about. What has been missing from the conversation was a deep look at the personal struggle of an individual going through it. ## Transcript [00:00] [ MUSIC ] [00:04] This is the first time in my life that I will [00:08] not be able to vote. [ MUSIC ] [00:19] Good afternoon, how are you? Are you registered to [00:22] vote? Yes. Would you also be willing to support sign a [00:25] petition that help others get their voting rights [00:28] restored? [ BLANK_AUDIO ] My name is [00:32] Roderick Kemp. I'm a divorced [00:36] father of three adult children and I'm also a [00:39] grandfather with two grandchildren. All right, that [00:42] enough? When I was a little kid, we kinda bounced [00:45] around a little. But, I was born in Detroit, Michigan ,- [00:48] Wanna hold my hand? where both sides of my family [00:51] are from. When I moved here, it just seems like it was [00:54] ten years behind, or 15 years behind [ MUSIC ] [01:00] I [01:04] want [01:07] you to meet somebody who is actually out here, who is [01:07] fighting for this, and [01:12] who has a bigger voice than me. Mr. [ UNKNOWN ], [01:12] would you come forward please and tell us the story. [01:15] [ APPLAUSE ] Hi, everybody, how are you doing today? [01:22] Fine. Great. When Obama first ran for office, a [01:26] lot of people that I knew were immediately involved [01:29] and I just wanted to jump in. Let me tell you [01:33] something, people. Every single election counts. I've [01:37] been totally involved in the political process, and I [01:40] raise a ton of money for Obama. I got involved with [01:44] fundraisers, volunteering, and then it just snowballed [01:47] from there. It just seemed natural to me. In the most [01:51] recent governor's election I ran a [ MUSIC ] [01:53] [ INAUDIBLE ] For the Charlie Crist campaign. I was [01:56] actually on salary with the Florida Democratic Party. [01:59] After Rick Scott got reelected. I got a letter in the mail [02:03] last summer that said, your voting rights have been [02:06] revoked. [ MUSIC ] [02:11] [ BLANK_AUDIO ] [02:16] It took a minute for it to sink in because I was like, wait [02:19] a minute. This must be a mistake [02:23] because I know the process. [02:28] I've been the one out recruiting people and doing voter [02:32] registration drives. So how could this happen to me? [02:36] I've been voting for 32 years. Immediately, what [02:40] happened 32 years ago came rushing to the forefront [02:43] of my mind and I was like but if that wasn't an issue [02:47] then, why is it an issue now? [ MUSIC ] [02:54] Hundreds of thousands of people shut out from the [02:56] polls. Florida leads the nation in denying the right to [03:00] vote to one specific group, felons. Since [03:05] Governor Rick Scott took office, the number of felons [03:07] getting their rights back after serving their time has [03:09] plummeted. Does this concern you that there are so [03:12] many felons out there who have paid their debt to [03:13] society and still can't vote? Well, we try to make sure [03:16] people have the opportunity to vote. I want everybody [03:18] to vote, but, also, just follow the law, and make [03:22] sure when people get out of prison, when they've [03:25] served their time, they get back and become a [03:27] member of society first. This has become substantially [03:30] more difficult since you took office. There are fewer [03:33] There are fewer people voting that are convicted [03:35] felons that have paid their debt. Just look at how many [03:36] people have voted we have plenty of turn out. As [03:41] for who this impacts, 13 % of all African American men [03:45] have lost their right to vote, that is seven times the [03:48] national average. And [03:54] carefree, and I was a recreational user of drugs. [03:59] And you know I made a careless mistake. [04:00] [ BLANK_AUDIO ] [04:06] And I'm not going to be able to vote. I'm [04:10] like an anonymous person. It just seems unfair. [04:14] [ MUSIC ] I thought that once I served my time, [04:18] I paid my dept to society. [ MUSIC ] [04:29] The majority of disenfranchised voters Are African [04:32] American. You mean to tell me that you are eligible to [04:36] pay your taxes, and you pay your taxes. But you're not [04:36] eligible to vote? Exactly. Does this make sense to you? [04:41] No, of course not. I don't think this should make sense [04:44] to them either. It's just a modern day form of [04:48] a Jim Crowe law. If they had to go back 32 years. 32 [04:50] years. Two years to find mine. [ LAUGH ] That's a long [04:52] time, bro. It impacts our community [04:56] more than it impacts other communities. How are you? [04:57] Hey, what's happening? Good to see [05:02] you. They probably went through the records as a, [05:06] let's say, a form of ordered suppression. Normally, [05:08] when this happens, of course It's Republican who are [05:11] in charge. How long does it take before they can get [05:14] their voting rights back? You wanna know the answer to [05:14] that right now? Yes. It takes [05:19] from between seven to 14 years plus. Because [05:23] whenever you call, guess what they tell you? Call back [05:24] next year. Call back next year. Call [05:29] back next year. [ MUSIC ] I [05:36] often wonder when I'm gonna get the right to vote [05:38] back. [05:40] And right now, I do not know the answer. I [05:45] am not gonna be somebody that's gonna be satisfied [05:48] and wait around. For it to take the 5- 7 years that they [05:52] told me. [ MUSIC ] [05:56] And I can tell you I intend to get my voting rights [06:00] back. [ MUSIC ] This is the Office of Executive [06:22] Clemency. How may I help you? Yeah, my name is [06:25] Robert Kemp. I had sent in an application, I think, for [06:29] clemency. Mm- hm. And I wanted to know what the [06:32] status is. It went to investigations, September 4th of [06:37] 2015. It is still pending. Your full pardon is pending. [06:40] So once an investigator gets to your whole pardon [06:43] you'll be notified, and when a decision is made on your [06:46] resurrection of civil rights, you'll be notified, okay? [06:50] Okay, how long will both of those processes take? [06:50] Unfortunately, there's no way to know on either [06:50] because we don't have a time frame. I'm sorry, we're [06:51] unable to provide a time frame. And due to the high [06:52] volume and complexity of cases [07:00] that we receive, and we process them in the order we [07:08] receive them. It does take multiple years from start to [07:11] finish. 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