The Final Year Shares Insider View of a Presidential Transition

Barack Obama made history as the first person of color to become President of the United States...twice.  It goes without saying that in these dark days we are dwelling in, longing for the days when I turned on the news and saw POTUS singing some Al Green, dancing with his Queen Michelle,  joking around with Jimmy Kimmel or giving a speech that ALL Americans could be proud of would be an understatement.

Of course, there is always the fascination of what being a President is like during that last year when you know your time is up.

The Final Year gives it audience a bird's eye view into the  inner workings and transition of one administration to another.  Director Greg Barker shared, "...my crew filmed UN Ambassador Samantha Power as she slowly removed her 7 year-old son’s artwork from the walls of her office overlooking 1st Avenue and then carried it down for what would be her last official ride as US Ambassador to the United Nations."

"This was the end of an era - everyone felt it - and, for me personally, the end of an epic 15-month film shoot that took me on a once-in-a-career journey inside the workings of our foreign policy machinery.  As Samantha Power drove away into the night, and I called a wrap on the entire production, I knew I had a unique opportunity to make a truly revealing film about the human dynamics and emotions at play inside the normally opaque world of US diplomacy."

As an American citizen, I learned just how much pressure there is on one man to delicately negotiate with other countries while trying to keep our citizens and country safe.  It's. thankless job and one the comes with much sacrifice...personally, professionally and politically.  The Final Year is extremely emotional, mostly because we know we will not see this type of history occur ever again.

Produced by Magnolia Pictures and shot on-the-fly, with minimal equipment, no lights, and the smallest possible crew at all times, it gave the team flexibility to capture spontaneous moments of nearly 1,000 hours of footage.

The Final Year is on-demand now at www.TheFinalYearFilm.com