The film began when Laurel Jensen taped a workshop on activism at American University in Washington, D.C. in January, 2003. Primarily a still photographer, she realized that documenting the story of contemporary activism through photographs missed much of the pertinent content and most of the context in which dissent occurs. To tell the story in any depth requires character development, dialogue and following events over time, none of which is well served by still photography.

During the filming it became evident that dissent is not an activity that just takes place on the street but rather it occurs at all levels of society in a variety of venues. What seemed at first pass to be crowds belting slogans and waving signs was on further review, an introduction to individuals with deeply held convictions and values. Acts of dissent can be personal such as quitting ones position or leaving a career altogether, or it can be a coordinated letter writing campaign to Congressional members or a referendum passed by local government representatives in protest of Federal regulations. Many of the people who dissent on the streets participate in these kinds of citizen actions and lobbying activities. Ms. Jensen herself is an example. She worked as a senior security analyst for the U.S. Navy until October 2003, when by mutual agreement, she left her position to protest U.S. foreign policy and dedicated herself instead to producing this film.

From January, 2003 to the present Ms. Jensen has filmed 200 events, recorded countless street interviews, several formal interviews and logged over 250 hours of footage relevant to dissent in its myriad forms. The events include organized marches and rallies, performances, demonstrations, direct actions, vigils and prayer circles, teach-ins, meetings, lobbying, trainings and acts of civil disobedience engaged in by ordinary citizens and personalities alike. Similarly, the interviews include both famous and unrecognized people engaged in dissent and those who are not involved at all. Although Washington, D.C. is the center of dissent, Ms. Jensen also covered events in Denver, CO, Omaha, NE, San Antonio, TX, Crawford, TX, Oakridge, TN, Savannah, GA, Columbia, SC, Dover, DE, Baltimore, MD, Fayetteville, NC and New York City.

While the time period covers the build-up, invasion and occupation of Iraq, it also addresses other contemporary issues including environmental concerns, genocide in Sudan, economic disparity in America, racism, nuclear weapons, women's issues, immigrant rights, the U.S. Patriot Act, globalization and others. While not all of these issues will be touched on in the film they speak to the diversity of concerns currently on the table and the wide array of affected populations who use organized dissent as one means of exercising political voice.

In the spring of 2004, Victoria Hughes, director/writer/producer viewed some of the footage and was struck by personal stories caught on tape. She contacted her co-producer at Dream Catcher Films, Inc., Holly Stadtler and an editor friend, Barr Weissman to pitch the idea for a film. Both showed an interest and after seeing a bit of the footage themselves, offered to work on the project. All three are seasoned filmmakers, each with a track record of professionally produced documentaries for broadcast. With the breadth of the footage in hand and their expertise as storytellers, a film was in the making. Immediately the team began to flesh out the story and fill in the blanks with historical footage of American dissent and a wish list of recognizable figures of our time.

Two days after the decision to produce a documentary, an anonymous donor, out of personal conviction, offered Ms. Jensen $20,000 as seed money to get the film started. This financing has covered costs associated with development and producing a trailer and construction of a website.