film

Knock Down the House

Threshold

Better Futures

Director

Rachel Lears

Director

Robin Blotnick

Producer

Sarah Olson

 

Production support

 

After losing her father in the midst of the financial crisis, Bronx-born Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had to work double shifts in a restaurant to save her family’s home from foreclosure. When her daughter died from an undiagnosed, 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 Jena Swearengin grew sick of burying family and friends to environmental illnesses caused by the coal industry. All four women understood that their lives were affected by politics, but as they dug deeper into the obstacles their families and communities faced, each discovered a brick wall: the influence of lobbyists and corporations on our political system.

At a moment of historic volatility in American politics, Amy, Alex, Cori and Paula decide to fight back, setting themselves on a journey that will change their lives and their country forever.