What does the documentary Black Start say about EMP threats and who appears in its credits?
Executive summary
Black Start is an independent documentary that frames electromagnetic pulse (EMP) events and other disruptions as acute and systemic threats to the U.S. power grid, urging urgent policy fixes while using dramatized scenarios and expert interviews to stress catastrophic social consequences; it was directed and produced by Patrea Patrick [1] [2]. The film includes appearances by a range of commentators—publicly named participants in various reports include Erika Frantzve (now Erika Kirk), former CIA Director R. James Woolsey, Jeanine Pirro and Peter Pry—but reporting disagrees about who is listed in official credits versus who appears on camera [1] [3] [4].
1. How the film frames EMPs and grid vulnerability
Black Start presents EMPs, solar storms and human-caused attacks as plausible vectors for long-term blackout scenarios that would cascade into societal collapse unless the grid is hardened, repeatedly arguing that solutions exist but are not being implemented due to political and industry inertia; the film pushes grid security as a “top national priority” and warns in stark terms that most people would not survive prolonged outages [1] [2] [5] [6]. Multiple outlets summarizing the documentary describe a deliberately alarmist but educational tone: interviews, expert analysis and dramatized scenarios are assembled to move policymakers and the public toward action [2] [5] [6].
2. Who made Black Start and what kind of film it is
Black Start was written, directed and produced by independent filmmaker Patrea Patrick through Heartfelt Films LLC and has been circulated publicly by the filmmaker herself; reporting and the film’s own listings identify it as an independent documentary rather than a government or CIA production [2] [6] [4]. Trailers and festival materials tied to the film emphasize its investigative and advocacy intent: exposing vulnerability, proposing fixes, and urging official attention [7] [1].
3. Which experts and public figures appear on camera
News summaries and clips identify on-camera contributors that include former CIA Director R. James Woolsey and commentators like Jeanine Pirro and Peter Pry, and several outlets show Erika Frantzve (now Erika Kirk) speaking in segments about EMP threats and preparedness [1] [3] [8] [4]. Reporting repeatedly highlights that the footage of Erika speaking in the film is publicly available and has been posted by the filmmaker, and that the appearance has circulated widely in 2026 social-media posts [3] [6] [2].
4. Discrepancies and contested credit listings
There is a discrepancy in reporting about formal credits: IMDb’s public page for Black Start lists Erika Kirk alongside Jeanine Pirro and Peter Pry in some summaries [1], while multiple news pieces and fact checks note that IMDb’s principal credits do not publicly list Erika and that the viral clip is from the public documentary rather than an official CIA briefing [3] [4]. Several outlets stress that the film’s inclusion of a former CIA official does not make it a CIA document, and independent fact-checking has warned against treating the documentary clip as evidence of secret government employment [4].
5. What can reliably be said and what remains unclear
It is reliably reported that Black Start is an independent documentary by Patrea Patrick about grid vulnerability, that it features experts discussing EMPs and dramatic scenarios of collapse, and that Erika Frantzve/Kirk appears on camera in footage circulating online [1] [2] [3] [4]. What remains unsettled in public reporting is the precise wording of on-screen credits across all distribution platforms—IMDb entries and social posts vary—and whether every outlet’s cast list matches the documentary’s internal credit roll as distributed by the filmmaker [1] [3] [6].
6. Why the distinction about credits matters
The debate over credits feeds larger claims about affiliation and authority: calling the clip “CIA footage” or asserting that a contributor was “briefing intelligence professionals” elevates an independent film segment into evidence of government operational roles, a leap several fact-checking-oriented reports explicitly dispute [4]. Multiple sources caution that public documentary appearances can be misconstrued into claims of secret ties or employment unless corroborated by independent documentary credits or institutional records [4] [6].