Knock Down The House
Q&A to follow with filmmaker Rachel Lears, moderated by NBC News’ Kasie Hunt.
This rousing documentary follows four extraordinary women—Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Amy Vilela, Cori Bush, and Paula Jean Swearengin—who take on the congressional establishment by mounting grassroots campaigns and building a movement during a time of historic volatility in American politics.
Four exceptional women mount grassroots campaigns against powerful incumbents in KNOCK DOWN THE HOUSE, an inspiring look at the 2018 midterm elections that tipped the balance of power. When tragedy struck her family in the middle of the financial crisis, Bronx-born Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had to work double shifts as a bartender to save her home from foreclosure. After losing a loved one to a preventable medical condition, Amy Vilela didn't know what to do with the anger she felt about America's broken health care system. Cori Bush, a registered nurse and pastor, was drawn to the streets when the police shooting of an unarmed black man brought protests and tanks into her neighborhood. A coal miner's daughter, Paula Jean Swearengin was fed up with watching her friends and family suffer from the environmental effects of the coal industry.
Winner of the Audience Award: U.S. Documentary and the Festival Favorite Award at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, Knock Down the House joins these courageous women on the campaign trail as they mobilize their bases, engage voters, and fuel a movement during a historic time in American Politics. Direct by Rachel Lears (The Hand that Feeds); written by Lears and Robin Blotnick (The Hand that Feeds); and produced by Lears, Blotnick, and Sarah Olson (Fed Up). Score by Ryan Blotnick (The Hand that Feeds).
In Select Theaters and Launching Globally on Netflix May 1, 2019.
- 2019_DC_Hail_Satan_190416: AFI Docs 2019 -- "Hail Satan?" (w/Penny Lane) @ Landmark E Street Cinemal (31 photos from 2019)
- 2019_DC_Knock_Down_190429: AFI Docs 2019 -- "Knock Down the House" (w/Rachel Lears, Amy Vilela, Kasie Hunt) @ Naval Heritage Center (68 photos from 2019)
- 2019_DC_Dr_Ruth_190417: AFI Docs 2019 and JxJ -- "Ask Dr. Ruth" (w/Dr. Ruth and Ryan White) @ Natl Museum of Amer History (82 photos from 2019)
- 2019_DC_Legacy_190620: AFI Docs 2019 & CPB -- Panel: Cinema's Legacy: Innovations in Nonfiction Storytelling @ Newseum (130 photos from 2019)
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