Democracy in America

Democracy in America

In the run up to the midterm elections, these films explore the state of democracy in the United States.

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Democracy in America
  • 30 Second Democracy

    Directed by David Vainola • Documentary • 1996 • 51 minutes

    :30 Second Democracy explores the disturbing relationship between political parties and the advertising industry during election campaigns. Through television advertising, techniques perfected to sell commercial products are readily app...

  • '63 Boycott

    Directed by Gordon Quinn • Documentary • 2017 • 30 minutes

    On October 22, 1963, more than 250,000 students boycotted the Chicago Public Schools to protest racial segregation. Many marched through the city calling for the resignation of School Superintendent Benjamin Willis, who placed trailers, ...

  • A Perfect Candidate

    Directed by R.J. Cutler & David Van Taylor • Documentary • With Oliver North, Chuck Robb • 1996 • 105 minutes

    Sometimes horrifying, often hilarious, A Perfect Candidate is a twisted journey into the underbelly of American politics. In 1994 former Marine Oliver North re-emerged from the Iran-Cont...

  • Advise & Dissent: Where the Supreme Court and Politics Collide

    Directed by David Van Taylor • Documentary • 2012 • 87 minutes

    The first documentary to go behind the lines and into the trenches of the judicial confirmation wars, ADVISE & DISSENT tracks two opposing lobbyists and two lions of the Senate through several recent nominations, each of which inflam...

  • American Feud

    Directed by Richard R. Hall • Documentary • With Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, G. Gordan Liddy • 2017 • 86 minutes

    This non-partisan classroom friendly documentary traces the American story of liberalism and conservatism featuring voices from many perspectives. It invites the audience to take a col...

  • American Socialist: Eugene Debs

    Directed by Yale Strom • Documentary • With Eugene Victor Debs, Amy Madigan, Richard Wolff, Dr. Frances Fox Piven, Dr. Nick Salvatore • 2018 • 97 minutes

    Bernie Sanders inspired a generation – but who inspired him? Yale Strom's new documentary traces the history of American populism by exploring...

  • An Act of Conscience

    Directed by Robbie Leppzer • Documentary • With Martin Sheen, Randy Kehler, Pete Seeger • 1997 • 90 minutes

    How far are you willing to go to stand up for your deepest beliefs? For Randy Kehler and Betsy Corner of Colrain, Massachusetts, their life-long commitment to pacifism led them to risk los...

  • And She Could Be Next (series)

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    Directed by Grace Lee, Marjan Safinia • Documentary • With Stacey Abrams, Rashida Tlaib, Bushra Amiwala, Maria Elena Durazo • 2020

    In a polarized America, where the dual forces of white supremacy and patriarchy threaten to further erode our democracy, a game-changing transformation is happening ...

  • Arguing the World

    Directed by Joseph Dorman • Documentary • With Irving Howe, Daniel Bell, Nathan Glazer, Irving Kristol • 1997 • 109 minutes

    Arguing the World is the story of four brilliant and engaging men caught up in the central struggles of our time. This enthralling film creates a vivid picture of intellect...

  • Bad Faith: Christian Nationalism's Unholy War on Democracy

    Directed by Stephen Ujlaki, Christopher Jacob Jones • Documentary • With Peter Coyote • 2024 • 89 minutes

    BAD FAITH explores the dangerous rise of Christian Nationalism in the United States. Part archival chronicle, part exposé, the film reveals the secretive political machinery that has relentl...

  • Before Stonewall

    Directed by Directed by Greta Schiller; Co-Directed by Robert Rosenberg • Documentary • With Rita Mae Brown, Ann Bannon, Martin Duberman, Allen Ginsberg, Dr. Evelyn Hooker, Audre Lorde, Harry Hay • 1984 • 87 minutes

    In 1969 the police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City's Greenw...

  • Berkeley in the Sixties

    Directed by Mark Kitchell • Documentary • With Ronald Reagan, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Mario Savio, Huey Newton, Allen Ginsberg, The Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix • 1990 • 117 minutes

    Berkeley in the Sixties recaptures the exhilaration and turmoil of the unprecedented student protests that sha...

  • The Campaign

    Directed by Tom Cohen • Documentary • 1982 • 90 minutes

    Part of the acclaimed Middletown series.

    Focusing on a mayoral race in Muncie, Indiana, THE CAMPAIGN follows closely the personalities, strategies, and pressures of an American political contest. In particular, it examines the sharply cont...

  • The Campaign

    Directed by Christie Herring • Documentary • 2013 • 56 minutes

    What inspires everyday people to opt in for something larger than themselves? THE CAMPAIGN follows California's historic No-on-8 campaign to defend same-sex marriage through behind the scenes footage, interwoven with the national his...

  • Capturing the Flag

    Directed by Anne de Mare • Documentary • 2018 • 76 minutes

    A tight-knit group of friends travel to Cumberland County, North Carolina—the 2016 'posterchild' for voter suppression—intent on proving that the big idea of American democracy can be defended by small acts of individual citizens. What t...

  • Chisholm '72: Unbought & Unbossed

    Directed by Shola Lynch • Documentary • With Shirley Chisholm, Amiri Baraka, Octavia Butler, Bobby Seale • 2004 • 77 minutes

    Recalling a watershed event in US politics, this compelling documentary takes an in-depth look at the 1972 presidential campaign of Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman...

  • Citizen George

    Directed by Glenn Holsten • Documentary • 2024 • 99 minutes

    Citizen George presents the life and work of Philadelphia-based Quaker activist George Lakey, a non-violent revolutionary who has worked his entire life for justice and peace, guided by his ideal of societal transformation.

    Called "a ...

  • The Corporate Coup d'État

    Directed by Fred Peabody • Documentary • With Chris Hedges, Phillip Martin, Sarah Jaffe, Matt Taibbi, Lee Fang, John Ralston Saul • 2018 • 90 minutes

    This investigative documentary exposes how corporations and billionaires have taken control of the American political process, and in doing so hav...

  • Feed: A Comedy About Running for President

    Directed by Kevin Rafferty & James Ridgeway • Documentary • 1992 • 76 minutes

    Using intercepted satellite feeds and footage of unsuspecting candidates shot during the 1992 presidential primaries, Feed presents the wild, wacky world of American politics.

    Watch Hillary Clinton navigate her first ...

  • The Five Demands

    Directed by Greta Schiller and Andrea Weiss • Documentary • 2023 • 74 minutes

    THE FIVE DEMANDS is a riveting story about the student strike that changed the face of higher education forever. In April 1969, a small group of Black and Puerto Rican students shut down the City College of New York, a...

  • Frontrunners

    Directed by Caroline Suh • Documentary • 2008 • 83 minutes

    Frontrunners is a smart and funny political documentary that follows the student council presdiential campaign at one of the country's most prestigious public high schools: Stuyvesant High School in New York City. Follow four charming an...

  • Howard Zinn: You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train

    Directed by Deb Ellis and Denis Mueller • Documentary • With Matt Damon • 2010 • 78 minutes

    This acclaimed film looks at the amazing life of the renowned historian, activist and author. Following his early days as a shipyard labor organizer and bombardier in World War II, Howard Zinn became an a...

  • Kent State: The Day the War Came Home

    Directed by Chris Triffo • Documentary • 2000 • 48 minutes

    This documentary tells the story and haunting legacy of the May 4, 1970 Kent State shootings. The unforgettable photograph of Mary Vecchio poised in anguish over the body of a slain student. The fervor of the wounded student activist sti...

  • Last Summer Won't Happen

    Directed by Peter Gessner & Tom Hurwitz • Documentary • With Abbie Hoffman, Paul Krassner, Tom Osha Neuman, Phil Ochs • 2002 • 58 minutes

    Shot in 1968, one year after the Summer of Love, LAST SUMMER WON'T HAPPEN is a critical yet sympathetic examination of the anti-war movement in New York City....