Wavelength has a simple mantra — “tell great fucking stories” — but its intentions go much deeper than that. Founded in 2015 by Jenifer Westphal, the scrappy six-year-old company has been making waves with its mostly women executives developing a diverse slate of films that combine social relevance with compelling characters, while prioritizing first-time women directors and filmmakers of color.
At a time when Hollywood continues to struggle to find diverse talent behind the camera, companies like Wavelength provide essential case studies for how to lean into inclusivity from the earliest stages of the development process. Since its founding in 2015, Wavelength has produced over 30 feature films, curating a roster of award-winning, buzz-worthy titles including Sundance fare like Ekwa Msangi’s “Farewell Amor,” Jordana Spiro’s “Night Comes On,” and Tayarisha Poe’s “Selah and the Spades,” as well as high profile documentaries including Morgan Neville’s “Won’t You Be My Neighbor,” which...
At a time when Hollywood continues to struggle to find diverse talent behind the camera, companies like Wavelength provide essential case studies for how to lean into inclusivity from the earliest stages of the development process. Since its founding in 2015, Wavelength has produced over 30 feature films, curating a roster of award-winning, buzz-worthy titles including Sundance fare like Ekwa Msangi’s “Farewell Amor,” Jordana Spiro’s “Night Comes On,” and Tayarisha Poe’s “Selah and the Spades,” as well as high profile documentaries including Morgan Neville’s “Won’t You Be My Neighbor,” which...
- 6/24/2021
- by Tambay Obenson
- Indiewire
Back in early 2017 filmmaker Rachel Lears came up with an idea for a documentary that wound up changing her life.
“Rachel was looking for a subject to follow right after the 2016 presidential election,” her husband and filmmaking collaborator Robin Blotnick explains. “She read an article about a group called Brand New Congress that was recruiting ordinary people to run for congress…She thought if she followed these organizers something interesting would come up.”
Something interesting did indeed come up when Lears crossed paths with one of those fresh-faced political upstarts: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
“I met her in March of 2017 at a gathering of potential candidates in Kentucky,” Lears tells Deadline. “I was certainly very, very impressed with her and her ability to speak about really complex issues, and in ways that connected with regular people.”
Ocasio-Cortez and three other Democratic “insurgent” women candidates became the stars of Knock Down the House,...
“Rachel was looking for a subject to follow right after the 2016 presidential election,” her husband and filmmaking collaborator Robin Blotnick explains. “She read an article about a group called Brand New Congress that was recruiting ordinary people to run for congress…She thought if she followed these organizers something interesting would come up.”
Something interesting did indeed come up when Lears crossed paths with one of those fresh-faced political upstarts: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
“I met her in March of 2017 at a gathering of potential candidates in Kentucky,” Lears tells Deadline. “I was certainly very, very impressed with her and her ability to speak about really complex issues, and in ways that connected with regular people.”
Ocasio-Cortez and three other Democratic “insurgent” women candidates became the stars of Knock Down the House,...
- 11/28/2019
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
The trophies for the fourth annual Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards were handed out on Sunday with Neon’s Apollo 11 taking Best Documentary Feature. The ceremony took place at Bric in Brooklyn.
Neon was the top winner of the night with the space docu, winning five awards. Their docu The Biggest Little Farm walked away with Best Cinematography and their bee-keeping pic Honeyland won Best First Documentary Feature for Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefano.
The Biggest Little Farm led the pack this year with seven nominations while Apollo 11 (also a Neon title) and the Warner Bros. docu They Shall Not Grow Old each had six. Speaking of the latter, The Shall Not Grow Old‘s Peter Jackson won for Best Director tying with Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert who directed the Netflix docu American Factory.
The ceremony also honored the great documentarian Frederick Wiseman with the D.A.Pennebaker Award...
Neon was the top winner of the night with the space docu, winning five awards. Their docu The Biggest Little Farm walked away with Best Cinematography and their bee-keeping pic Honeyland won Best First Documentary Feature for Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefano.
The Biggest Little Farm led the pack this year with seven nominations while Apollo 11 (also a Neon title) and the Warner Bros. docu They Shall Not Grow Old each had six. Speaking of the latter, The Shall Not Grow Old‘s Peter Jackson won for Best Director tying with Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert who directed the Netflix docu American Factory.
The ceremony also honored the great documentarian Frederick Wiseman with the D.A.Pennebaker Award...
- 11/11/2019
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
“Apollo 11” has been named the best nonfiction film of 2019 at the fourth annual Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards, which took place on Sunday evening at Bric in Brooklyn, New York.
The chronicle of Nasa’s 1969 moon mission won five awards in total, topping all other films at the ceremony voted on by film and television critics and journalists in the Critics’ Choice Association.
“Apollo 11” won in the Best Documentary Feature category that also included “American Factory,” “The Biggest Little Farm,” “The Cave,” “Honeyland,” “The Kingmaker,” “Knock Down the House,” “Maiden,” “One Child Nation,” “They Shall Not Grow Old” and the two-part HBO documentary series “Leaving Neverland.” (The Critics’ Choice rules do not differentiate between film and television docs.)
The Best Director category ended in a tie between Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert for “American Factory” and Peter Jackson for “They Shall Not Grow Old.”
Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov’s film “Honeyland,...
The chronicle of Nasa’s 1969 moon mission won five awards in total, topping all other films at the ceremony voted on by film and television critics and journalists in the Critics’ Choice Association.
“Apollo 11” won in the Best Documentary Feature category that also included “American Factory,” “The Biggest Little Farm,” “The Cave,” “Honeyland,” “The Kingmaker,” “Knock Down the House,” “Maiden,” “One Child Nation,” “They Shall Not Grow Old” and the two-part HBO documentary series “Leaving Neverland.” (The Critics’ Choice rules do not differentiate between film and television docs.)
The Best Director category ended in a tie between Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert for “American Factory” and Peter Jackson for “They Shall Not Grow Old.”
Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov’s film “Honeyland,...
- 11/11/2019
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
There are few better ways to tell a complicated true-life story than a well-made documentary. From Hulu and Netflix’s competing Fyre Festival documentaries, which both capture the mega-disaster of the exclusive event that never happened, to groundbreaking docuseries that rocked the music industry, like Lifetime’s “Surviving R. Kelly” and HBO’s “Leaving Neverland,” 2019 has been the year for riveting documentaries.
And if you’re still itching to see more powerful scammers get exposed, Netflix has you covered. “Dirty Money” chronicles real cases of corruption and corporate greed as it takes shape in drug dealing and politics, while “The Great Hack” reveals how Cambridge Analytica became a propaganda machine during the 2016 election. Other political docs include “Knock Down the House,” “Flint Town,” “Reversing Roe” and “Trump: An American Dream.”
But if you’re craving something more upbeat, you can always watch Beyonce’s “Homecoming,” which chronicles the singer’s...
And if you’re still itching to see more powerful scammers get exposed, Netflix has you covered. “Dirty Money” chronicles real cases of corruption and corporate greed as it takes shape in drug dealing and politics, while “The Great Hack” reveals how Cambridge Analytica became a propaganda machine during the 2016 election. Other political docs include “Knock Down the House,” “Flint Town,” “Reversing Roe” and “Trump: An American Dream.”
But if you’re craving something more upbeat, you can always watch Beyonce’s “Homecoming,” which chronicles the singer’s...
- 8/14/2019
- by BreAnna Bell
- Variety Film + TV
Knock Down the House is a rousing documentary about the future of our country, guided by the emboldened voices of four progressive female congressional candidates in the 2018 primary. Chief among them is beacon-of-hope Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (aka Aoc), who tells us, “For every 10 rejections you get one acceptance. And that’s how you win everything.” Her words resonate especially when the other three candidates—Amy Vilela, Cori Bush and Paula Jean Swearengin, each worthy of coverage in their own right—lose out to the old guard. Producers Sarah Olson, Robin Blotnic, and producer/director Rachel Lears achieve a mix of optimism and heartbreak by juxtaposing three unsuccessful campaigns with Aoc’s DC-shaking victory.…...
- 5/2/2019
- by Dylan Kai Dempsey
- IONCINEMA.com
It’s almost impossible not to know who Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is if you pay even a little attention to politics. She’s a force of nature and a rock star. One day, a film may be made about her, biopic style. For the moment, we just have a stunning new documentary in Knock Down the House, which played to raves earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival. Rightly so, too, as this is non fiction cinema at its finest. You don’t have to be a hardcore political aficionado or a left wing liberal to appreciate this. It’s far more about diversity, representation, and the middle class rising up than any political ideology. The doc is a look at a quartet of insurgent candidates in the 2018 midterm elections. They are a young bartender in the Bronx named Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a coal miner’s daughter in West Virginia by...
- 5/2/2019
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in Knock Down The House. Photo courtesy of Netflix.
When director Rachel Lears started following four women candidates in the 2018 congressional primaries, she had no idea one of them would become the focus of national attention. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was one of four female political outsiders challenging Democratic incumbents that Lears pick to follow for this political wild ride, as they attempt to knock down the doors to power in the U.S. Congress. The resulting documentary, Knock Down The House, is as thrilling, gripping and inspiring, as it is ground-breaking.
Two of the four women candidates featured in the documentary, St. Louisan Cori Bush and Nevadan Amy Vilela, will appear at a question-and-answer session after the St. Louis opening of Knock Down The House, at 7:05 Pm at the Tivoli Theater, as the film begins its local theatrical run. Knock Down The House was a hot ticket at...
When director Rachel Lears started following four women candidates in the 2018 congressional primaries, she had no idea one of them would become the focus of national attention. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was one of four female political outsiders challenging Democratic incumbents that Lears pick to follow for this political wild ride, as they attempt to knock down the doors to power in the U.S. Congress. The resulting documentary, Knock Down The House, is as thrilling, gripping and inspiring, as it is ground-breaking.
Two of the four women candidates featured in the documentary, St. Louisan Cori Bush and Nevadan Amy Vilela, will appear at a question-and-answer session after the St. Louis opening of Knock Down The House, at 7:05 Pm at the Tivoli Theater, as the film begins its local theatrical run. Knock Down The House was a hot ticket at...
- 5/1/2019
- by Cate Marquis
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
When Rachel Lears was chronicling the election campaigns of four progressive Democrats trying to upend the status quo she was very aware that all of the primary candidates could lose their races. Amy Vilela was trying to earn the nomination for a Las Vegas area congressional seat long controlled by the vaunted Harry Reid machine. Cori Bush was attempting to overcome one family’s hold on a St. Louis congressional seat for almost 50 years.
Continue reading ‘Knock Down The House’ Director Chronicles The Incredible Journey Of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez [Podcast] at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Knock Down The House’ Director Chronicles The Incredible Journey Of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez [Podcast] at The Playlist.
- 5/1/2019
- by Gregory Ellwood
- The Playlist
Serial killers and cuckoo soldiers, talking birds and friendly demons — it’s an everything-and-the-kitchen-sink month in streaming programming. Hulu and Amazon have both attempted to translate a complex literary treasure for the screen, while Netflix reintroduces Zac Efron as a bloodthirsty dreamboat and turns Ali Wong and Tiffany Haddish into animated birds. Also: Ava DuVernay takes on the Central Park Five case, the notorious A.O.C. takes politics by storm and Phoebe Waller-Bridge finds religion. Check out your best streaming options for the month.
Catch-22 (Hulu, May 17th)
Any soldier deemed...
Catch-22 (Hulu, May 17th)
Any soldier deemed...
- 5/1/2019
- by Charles Bramesco
- Rollingstone.com
Abolish your suspicions if you are expecting a standard-issue political campaign movie from Rachel Lears’ inspiring “Knock Down the House,” the winner of two audience awards at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival.
Along with her editor and co-writer Robin Blotnick (“The Hand That Feeds”), director Lears (“Netizens”) raises the tired fare’s bar several notches in her powerhouse documentary and puts forth intertwined character studies of four liberal Americans — women who challenged the odds stacked against them leading up to the historic 2018 midterm elections that altered the face of the House of Representatives. Not unlike the candidates it portrays, “Knock Down The House” puts in the necessary work towards a payoff that earns both cheers and tears.
With her name frequently in the headlines and a Twitter follower count in the millions, the larger-than-life, Bronx-born politician in the forefront of Lears’ documentary needs no introduction. She is the 28-year-old U.S.
Along with her editor and co-writer Robin Blotnick (“The Hand That Feeds”), director Lears (“Netizens”) raises the tired fare’s bar several notches in her powerhouse documentary and puts forth intertwined character studies of four liberal Americans — women who challenged the odds stacked against them leading up to the historic 2018 midterm elections that altered the face of the House of Representatives. Not unlike the candidates it portrays, “Knock Down The House” puts in the necessary work towards a payoff that earns both cheers and tears.
With her name frequently in the headlines and a Twitter follower count in the millions, the larger-than-life, Bronx-born politician in the forefront of Lears’ documentary needs no introduction. She is the 28-year-old U.S.
- 4/30/2019
- by Tomris Laffly
- The Wrap
This all-access, dig-in-and-dig-deep documentary from Rachel Lears and co-writer Robin Blotnick concerns the 2018 primary campaigns of four progressive, grassroots, insurrectionist, female Democrats: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a waitress/bartender from New York who is forced to work double shifts to save her family home from foreclosure. Amy Vilela is a Nevada mom who lost her 22-year-old daughter to a brain clot when a hospital turned the young woman away for lack of health insurance. Cori Bush is a St. Louis nurse who rushed to help the wounded during the Ferguson,...
- 4/30/2019
- by Peter Travers
- Rollingstone.com
Knock Down The House Netflix Reviewed for Shockya.com & BigAppleReviews.net linked from Rotten Tomatoes by: Harvey Karten Director: Rachel Lears Screenwriter: Rachel Lears, Robin Blotnick Cast: Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, Amy Vilela, Paul Jean Swearengin, Cori Bush Screened at: Bryant Park Screening Room, NYC, 4/18/19 Opens: May 1, 2019 Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez is my kind of congresswoman. She […]
The post Knock Down The House Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post Knock Down The House Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 4/28/2019
- by Harvey Karten
- ShockYa
The time has come to share with you the full lists and shows that will be coming to Netflix in May 2019. As you’ll see, the line up is filled with lots of original content for you to enjoy. Of course, there’s also other films coming such as Austin Powers, Casper, Gremlins, Hoosiers, Scream, Snow Piercer, The Matrix movies, Mr. Mom and more.
Check out the full list of movies and TV shows coming to Netflix next month below and let us know which ones you’re most excited about watching!
May 1
Knock Down The House -- Netflix Film
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.
Munafik 2 -- Netflix Film
Haunted by terrifying visions, a Muslim...
Check out the full list of movies and TV shows coming to Netflix next month below and let us know which ones you’re most excited about watching!
May 1
Knock Down The House -- Netflix Film
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.
Munafik 2 -- Netflix Film
Haunted by terrifying visions, a Muslim...
- 4/25/2019
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
Spring is in the air, and with it a fresh batch of Netflix movies to whet your appetite. Next month, the streaming behemoth is rolling out a slew of classic titles as well as a robust slate of Original films and series. With the pending launch of Disney+ threatening to overtake Netflix’s command of the streaming market, the platform will have to step up its game if it wants to keep ahead of the game. Luckily, Netflix has the goods to back up its claim as the Iron Throne of streaming.
Beginning on the first of the month, Netflix will debut the Sundance hit political documentary, “Knock Down the House,” which follow four women running for congress in 2018, including New York’s rock star progressive Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Two days later, Zac Efron’s Ted Bundy flick, “Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile,” hits the platform. Those preferring a powerhouse-filled...
Beginning on the first of the month, Netflix will debut the Sundance hit political documentary, “Knock Down the House,” which follow four women running for congress in 2018, including New York’s rock star progressive Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Two days later, Zac Efron’s Ted Bundy flick, “Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile,” hits the platform. Those preferring a powerhouse-filled...
- 4/24/2019
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
Knock Down The House Trailer Rachel Lears‘ Knock Down The House (2019) movie trailer stars Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Amy Vilela, Cori Bush, and Paula Jean Swearengin. Knock Down The House‘s plot synopsis: “Four exceptional women mount grassroots campaigns against powerful incumbents in Knock Down The House, a galvanic and inspiring look at the 2018 midterm elections that [...]
Continue reading: Knock Down The House (2019) Movie Trailer: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez & Others Mount 2018 Midterm Election Campaigns...
Continue reading: Knock Down The House (2019) Movie Trailer: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez & Others Mount 2018 Midterm Election Campaigns...
- 4/23/2019
- by Rollo Tomasi
- Film-Book
When it comes to recent politically-charged moments getting the documentary treatment, they can often feel like rush jobs, but that wasn’t the case when Rachel Lears premiered Knock Down the House at Sundance this year and walked away with the top audience favorite prize.
Following Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Amy Vilela, Cori Bush, and Paula Jean Swearengin as they fought the powers at be to make history, Netflix quickly snatched up the film and it’ll now hit theaters and their platform next week. Ahead of the debut, the first trailer has also arrived.
Jake Howell said in our review, “Rachel Lears’ Knock Down the House is a fun, emotionally powerful, inspiring look at the incredible wave of would-be politicians that sought, in 2018, to challenge status quo Democrats and enact meaningful change—all while refusing money from Wall Street fat cats and big business super PACs.”
See the trailer and poster below.
Following Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Amy Vilela, Cori Bush, and Paula Jean Swearengin as they fought the powers at be to make history, Netflix quickly snatched up the film and it’ll now hit theaters and their platform next week. Ahead of the debut, the first trailer has also arrived.
Jake Howell said in our review, “Rachel Lears’ Knock Down the House is a fun, emotionally powerful, inspiring look at the incredible wave of would-be politicians that sought, in 2018, to challenge status quo Democrats and enact meaningful change—all while refusing money from Wall Street fat cats and big business super PACs.”
See the trailer and poster below.
- 4/22/2019
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Four women channel personal hardships and national angst into progressive, grassroots Congressional campaigns in the upcoming documentary Knock Down the House, which premieres globally on Netflix and in select theaters on May 1st. The film’s new trailer previews the divergent yet harmonious paths of Democrats Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (New York), Amy Vilela (Nevada), Cori Bush (Missouri) and Paula Jean Swearengin (West Virginia), all of whom ran in the 2018 midterm elections.
The clip opens with Ocasio-Cortez, the only winning candidate, as she gears up to challenge — and ultimately upset — 10-term incumbent Congressman Joe Crowley.
The clip opens with Ocasio-Cortez, the only winning candidate, as she gears up to challenge — and ultimately upset — 10-term incumbent Congressman Joe Crowley.
- 4/22/2019
- by Ryan Reed
- Rollingstone.com
"I'm running because everyday Americans deserve to be represented by everyday Americans." Netflix has unveiled a trailer the indie documentary Knock Down the House, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year where it won the top Audience Award: Documentary prize. This rousing, inspiring, spirited documentary is about four different women running against incumbents in the 2018 congressional election. The film closely follows: Amy Vilela from Nevada, Cori Bush from Missouri, and Paula Jean Swearengin from West Virginia. The real star of the show, however, is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez from New York - who as we know went on to win and is already shaking things up in the House. "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." This is one terrific doc that is worth your time.
- 4/22/2019
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
In news that’s sure to be met with calm, rational discourse, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is already the subject of a documentary. She isn’t the only one featured in “Knock Down the House” — Amy Vilela, Cori Bush, and Paula Jean Swearengin all receive pride of place as well — but Rachel Lears’ film has nonetheless been perceived as “the Aoc documentary” since its Park City debut earlier this year. Watch the trailer below to see how that isn’t entirely accurate.
“If I was a rational person, I would have dropped out of this race a long time ago,” Aoc says as the trailer opens, later saying that “Americans aren’t asking for a lot. They’re just asking for politicians to help them get by.” The other three women running for Congress are no less determined, and their reasons for doing so are even more moving.
Here’s the...
“If I was a rational person, I would have dropped out of this race a long time ago,” Aoc says as the trailer opens, later saying that “Americans aren’t asking for a lot. They’re just asking for politicians to help them get by.” The other three women running for Congress are no less determined, and their reasons for doing so are even more moving.
Here’s the...
- 4/22/2019
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
Three dozen women won House seats in the November midterm elections, including a few who made have made national names for themselves. You’ve likely heard of Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlain — and a certain ex-bartender from the Bronx who’s among the subjects of Knock Down the House, which now has its first trailer. Check it out abovee.
The film certainly had a high-profile premiere at Sundance, where it won the Festival Favorite Award after its star Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — who had planned to go to Park City for the screening — but declined to attend amid the government shutdown. She ended up addressing the premiere audience via video.
Add to that Netflix paying $10 million to win a heated auction for the film, which that followed the campaigns of four progressive women who ran against incumbents in the 2018 midterm elections. Of the quartet, only Aoc won, but she has shaken up the status quo,...
The film certainly had a high-profile premiere at Sundance, where it won the Festival Favorite Award after its star Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — who had planned to go to Park City for the screening — but declined to attend amid the government shutdown. She ended up addressing the premiere audience via video.
Add to that Netflix paying $10 million to win a heated auction for the film, which that followed the campaigns of four progressive women who ran against incumbents in the 2018 midterm elections. Of the quartet, only Aoc won, but she has shaken up the status quo,...
- 4/22/2019
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
‘Knock Down the House’: Review by Peter BelsitoAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez takes center stage in an emotional feature documentary that tracks the 2018 primary campaigns of four progressive female candidates.
I think this is a very important and inspiring documentary about newcomer insurgents taking on the system. Women rebelling.
There is something happening here. In the Us.
Since the election of the current and increasingly unpopular U.S. President, there has been a growing movement of dissatisfaction and anger with and towards the government.
Trump represents a minority and this film shows the growing majority frustrated and angry with the situation.
The film focuses on a divergent group of women candidates from various places and with varying backgrounds. They are all first time political candidates.
“This is not about electing me to Congress,” says Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez just before her debate versus longstanding New York Rep. Joe Crowley. “This is about electing us to Congress.
I think this is a very important and inspiring documentary about newcomer insurgents taking on the system. Women rebelling.
There is something happening here. In the Us.
Since the election of the current and increasingly unpopular U.S. President, there has been a growing movement of dissatisfaction and anger with and towards the government.
Trump represents a minority and this film shows the growing majority frustrated and angry with the situation.
The film focuses on a divergent group of women candidates from various places and with varying backgrounds. They are all first time political candidates.
“This is not about electing me to Congress,” says Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez just before her debate versus longstanding New York Rep. Joe Crowley. “This is about electing us to Congress.
- 4/15/2019
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Netflix announced on Thursday that it has finalized a deal to acquire worldwide distribution rights to the award-winning documentary, “Knock Down the House,” which features Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
The documentary received a standing ovation following its premiere during the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, and was given by the Sundance Institute the Festival Favorite Award selected by audience votes from the 121 features screened at the festival.
When tragedy struck her family in the midst of the financial crisis, Bronx-born Ocasio-Cortez had to work double shifts in a restaurant 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 was drawn into the streets when the police shooting of an unarmed black man brought protests and tanks into her neighborhood. Paula Jean Swearengin was fed...
The documentary received a standing ovation following its premiere during the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, and was given by the Sundance Institute the Festival Favorite Award selected by audience votes from the 121 features screened at the festival.
When tragedy struck her family in the midst of the financial crisis, Bronx-born Ocasio-Cortez had to work double shifts in a restaurant 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 was drawn into the streets when the police shooting of an unarmed black man brought protests and tanks into her neighborhood. Paula Jean Swearengin was fed...
- 2/7/2019
- by Jeremy Fuster and Trey Williams
- The Wrap
Exclusive: Deadline broke news last Wednesday that Netflix had won a heated auction for the Sundance documentary Knock Down the House, but it wasn’t immediately clear how much the picture sold for. I can reveal that Netflix paid $10 million for worldwide rights to a film that yesterday received Sundance’s coveted Festival Favorite Award.
By my count, that makes Knock Down the House the biggest documentary sale ever brokered at a film festival, this for the Rachel Lears-directed film that followed the campaigns of congresswoman Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez and three other candidates who ran against incumbents in the elections last fall, shaking up the status quo and bringing fresh blood into Congress.
Long marginalized in comparisons to narrative films, documentaries have entered an unprecedented golden age, one that is only going to get better, as studio-backed subscription streaming services will seek out these films in the next year or...
By my count, that makes Knock Down the House the biggest documentary sale ever brokered at a film festival, this for the Rachel Lears-directed film that followed the campaigns of congresswoman Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez and three other candidates who ran against incumbents in the elections last fall, shaking up the status quo and bringing fresh blood into Congress.
Long marginalized in comparisons to narrative films, documentaries have entered an unprecedented golden age, one that is only going to get better, as studio-backed subscription streaming services will seek out these films in the next year or...
- 2/6/2019
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
When filming “Knock Down the House,” Rachel Lears was worried at one point that none of the women she followed in their campaigns for Congress would be successful. But then Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez pulled off her stunning upset in the Bronx, becoming the youngest woman ever elected to the House of Representatives.
“It was a really incredible experience going through that election day and night with her,” Lears told TheWrap’s Steve Pond at the Sundance Film Festival. “I was a little delirious filming for 30 straight days, probably, but it was a pretty amazing night.”
Also Read: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Joins Sundance After All, by Webcast
Along with Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign, “Knock Down the House” follows three other progressive women with working class backgrounds who, after Donald Trump’s election, decided to run for Congress in the 2018 midterms. As they jumped into the election, they faced incumbents and other contenders that had...
“It was a really incredible experience going through that election day and night with her,” Lears told TheWrap’s Steve Pond at the Sundance Film Festival. “I was a little delirious filming for 30 straight days, probably, but it was a pretty amazing night.”
Also Read: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Joins Sundance After All, by Webcast
Along with Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign, “Knock Down the House” follows three other progressive women with working class backgrounds who, after Donald Trump’s election, decided to run for Congress in the 2018 midterms. As they jumped into the election, they faced incumbents and other contenders that had...
- 2/6/2019
- by Jeremy Fuster
- The Wrap
Rachel Lears was looking for hope. The ongoing legacy of the 2016 election had left the documentarian scouring for stories that would counteract, in her words, “the cynicism and despair that a lot of us felt.” She began to notice that progressive organizations like Brand New Congress and Justice Democrats were encouraging a number of “ordinary people,” i.e. not career politicians and corporate-sponsored fatcats, to run for Congress in the 2018 midterms. The fact that an unprecedented amount of women and people of color were throwing their names in the ring had also caught her attention.
- 1/31/2019
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
Netflix is in final negotiations to win rights to “Knock Down the House,” an acclaimed documentary about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other progressive candidates that debuted at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
Rumor has it that the sale could be for as much as $6 million, a huge sum of money for a non-fiction film. The project attracted several bidders in what has been a nearly four-day, ongoing pitch standoff between Amazon, Hulu, and Netflix, multiple insiders familiar with the talks told Variety. Sony Pictures Classics also expressed interest, one of the individuals said. Amazon dropped out late Wednesday, another said.
Initially, the filmmakers were seeking robust theatrical distribution — something that Netflix has traditionally shunned.
Directed by Rachel Lears, “Knock Down the House” provides rare, behind-the-scenes footage of Ocasio-Cortez’s upset primary win over Democratic powerhouse Joe Crowley. The film documents three other upstart candidates — West Virginia’s Paula Jean Swearengin,...
Rumor has it that the sale could be for as much as $6 million, a huge sum of money for a non-fiction film. The project attracted several bidders in what has been a nearly four-day, ongoing pitch standoff between Amazon, Hulu, and Netflix, multiple insiders familiar with the talks told Variety. Sony Pictures Classics also expressed interest, one of the individuals said. Amazon dropped out late Wednesday, another said.
Initially, the filmmakers were seeking robust theatrical distribution — something that Netflix has traditionally shunned.
Directed by Rachel Lears, “Knock Down the House” provides rare, behind-the-scenes footage of Ocasio-Cortez’s upset primary win over Democratic powerhouse Joe Crowley. The film documents three other upstart candidates — West Virginia’s Paula Jean Swearengin,...
- 1/31/2019
- by Brent Lang and Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Netflix is about to get on the board in a big way at the Sundance Film Festival, near a deal on one of the buzziest documentaries to play Park City. Netflix is closing on Knock Down the House, the Rachel Lears-directed film that followed the campaigns of four progressive women who ran against incumbents in the elections last fall, shaking up the status quo and bringing fresh blood into Congress.
One of the main figures in the film is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who ran as a member of the Democratic Socialists of America and was elected to New York’s 14th District and became at age 29 the youngest woman ever elected to the U.S. Congress. Ocasio-Cortez was expected to come to Sundance, but had to cancel the trip because of the turbulence of the government shutdown which was just coming to an end.
The other progressive challengers whose...
One of the main figures in the film is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who ran as a member of the Democratic Socialists of America and was elected to New York’s 14th District and became at age 29 the youngest woman ever elected to the U.S. Congress. Ocasio-Cortez was expected to come to Sundance, but had to cancel the trip because of the turbulence of the government shutdown which was just coming to an end.
The other progressive challengers whose...
- 1/31/2019
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Netflix is circling Knock Down the House, the Sundance documentary that tracked four women running for Congress in 2018, including now-Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York).
The feature follows Ocasio-Cortez, Amy Vilela, Cori Bush and Paula Jean Swearengin as they join a movement of insurgent candidates trying to topple incumbents in an electric primary race for Congress. (Ocasio-Cortez won her race and has since become an outspoken voice among the young Democrats in Congress.)
Rachel Lears directed the film and produced with Sarah Olson and Robin Blotnick.
Fellow streamers Apple and Amazon also showed interest in Knock Down the House, which ...
The feature follows Ocasio-Cortez, Amy Vilela, Cori Bush and Paula Jean Swearengin as they join a movement of insurgent candidates trying to topple incumbents in an electric primary race for Congress. (Ocasio-Cortez won her race and has since become an outspoken voice among the young Democrats in Congress.)
Rachel Lears directed the film and produced with Sarah Olson and Robin Blotnick.
Fellow streamers Apple and Amazon also showed interest in Knock Down the House, which ...
- 1/30/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Netflix is circling Knock Down the House, the Sundance documentary that tracked four women running for Congress in 2018, including now-Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York).
The feature follows Ocasio-Cortez, Amy Vilela, Cori Bush and Paula Jean Swearengin as they join a movement of insurgent candidates trying to topple incumbents in an electric primary race for Congress. (Ocasio-Cortez won her race and has since become an outspoken voice among the young Democrats in Congress.)
Rachel Lears directed the film and produced with Sarah Olson and Robin Blotnick.
Fellow streamers Apple and Amazon also showed interest in Knock Down the House, which ...
The feature follows Ocasio-Cortez, Amy Vilela, Cori Bush and Paula Jean Swearengin as they join a movement of insurgent candidates trying to topple incumbents in an electric primary race for Congress. (Ocasio-Cortez won her race and has since become an outspoken voice among the young Democrats in Congress.)
Rachel Lears directed the film and produced with Sarah Olson and Robin Blotnick.
Fellow streamers Apple and Amazon also showed interest in Knock Down the House, which ...
- 1/30/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
No one would believe the ending of Rachel Lears’ “Knock Down the House” if it wasn’t splashed all over the news months ago, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t land with a gut punch and more than a few tears. Originally imagined — and, as evidenced by a successful Kickstarter campaign, quite literally pitched — as a documentary about the changing face of America’s political strivers, the inspiring film inevitably changed significantly along the way. The result is an immediate and engaging look inside a system so many newbies are eager to mold into a fresh vision, bolstered by the star wattage of a newly minted political powerhouse.
Lears’ film focuses on four first-time candidates scattered around the country, all women, all from working class backgrounds, all pursuing political office for different reasons, though the film inevitably gives way to the full-force power of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign and charisma.
Lears’ film focuses on four first-time candidates scattered around the country, all women, all from working class backgrounds, all pursuing political office for different reasons, though the film inevitably gives way to the full-force power of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign and charisma.
- 1/30/2019
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
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