Knock Down the House is one of my favorite films about electoral politics, well… ever. I think the only movie that can top it might be Recount, a film about the 2000 election in Florida. Being the nerd that I was, 8 year-old Lucy proclaimed that this was the best movie ever (forget Disney princesses when you can have Al Gore?!) Anyway, Knock Down the House is a documentary that follows four progressive women trying to get elected to Congress in the 2018 election cycle. The breakout star? Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Talk about getting in on the ground floor of something big.
Today, the creators of Knock Down the House came out with a Christmas present for people like me. They have just released a new documentary, To the End, about the four-year long (2018-2022) fight for climate legislation in America as seen through the eyes of now representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Sunrise Movement leader Varshini Prakash, policy leader Rhiana Gunn-Wright, and political strategist Alexandra Rojas.
What I love about the concept for this film is that it shows all of these different perspectives and ways to work on climate. The truth is that we need everyone — representatives, young people, movements, policy nerds, political masterminds, and more. Too often, wins are attributed to one person or one moment. We won historic climate legislation in this country by finally wielding many kinds of power, together.
The movie is only out in theaters (this usually has to do with distribution rights still being negotiated), but I hope you’ll enjoy the trailer and look to see if it is playing in a theater near you! The past four years have been a whirlwind, with many disappointments, worsening crises, and, a whole lot of hope. We simply need to see this fight through to the end.