Roadside Attractions has taken domestic rights for To The End, the follow-up film from Rachel Lears (Knock Down The House), and set a Dec. 9 theatrical-only release date.
The deal was announced by Co-Presidents Howard Cohen and Eric d’Arbeloff. The film, which premiered at Sundance, covers three years of both hope and crisis leading to the recent, historic passage of landmark climate legislation — The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.
It focuses on four exceptional women, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, on the front lines of climate policy and advocacy with up-to-the-minute material.
“We are thrilled to be releasing To The End, said Roadside VP of Acquisitions Angel An. “These are the people, four young women from diverse backgrounds, often left out of the political deal-making narrative. Yet this film makes clear how these committed activists have worked to shift the narrative on climate that led to the [Act’s] passage.”
“We always wanted this immersive...
The deal was announced by Co-Presidents Howard Cohen and Eric d’Arbeloff. The film, which premiered at Sundance, covers three years of both hope and crisis leading to the recent, historic passage of landmark climate legislation — The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.
It focuses on four exceptional women, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, on the front lines of climate policy and advocacy with up-to-the-minute material.
“We are thrilled to be releasing To The End, said Roadside VP of Acquisitions Angel An. “These are the people, four young women from diverse backgrounds, often left out of the political deal-making narrative. Yet this film makes clear how these committed activists have worked to shift the narrative on climate that led to the [Act’s] passage.”
“We always wanted this immersive...
- 9/23/2022
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
To the End Tribeca Festival Viewpoints Reviewed for Shockya.com by Abe Friedtanzer Director: Rachel Lears Writer: Rachel Lears and Robin Blotnick Cast: Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, Varshini Prakash, Alexandra Rojas, Rhiana Gunn-Wright Screened at: Village East Cinema, NYC, 4/9/22 Opens: June 12th, 2022 Climate change in today’s world has reached a disastrous point, one which many […]
The post Tribeca 2022: To the End Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post Tribeca 2022: To the End Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 6/19/2022
- by Abe Friedtanzer
- ShockYa
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
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
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
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will be a little busy tonight, but she might be celebrating this news ahead of the State of the Union address. Knock Down the House, the documentary that followed her run for Congress last year along will three other first-time female candidates, has won the Festival Favorite Award at Sundance.
The pic beat out 120 others features that screened at the fest, which wrapped Sunday. Runners-up for the prize included Ask Dr. Ruth, The Biggest Little Farm, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind and Blinded by the Light.
Directed by Rachel Lears and produced by Lears, Sarah Olson and Robin Blotnick, Knock Down the House had its world premiere at the Park City festival. It follows four female political candidates from around the country – a young bartender in the Bronx (aka Aoc), a coal miner’s daughter in West Virginia, a grieving mother in Nevada and a registered nurse...
The pic beat out 120 others features that screened at the fest, which wrapped Sunday. Runners-up for the prize included Ask Dr. Ruth, The Biggest Little Farm, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind and Blinded by the Light.
Directed by Rachel Lears and produced by Lears, Sarah Olson and Robin Blotnick, Knock Down the House had its world premiere at the Park City festival. It follows four female political candidates from around the country – a young bartender in the Bronx (aka Aoc), a coal miner’s daughter in West Virginia, a grieving mother in Nevada and a registered nurse...
- 2/5/2019
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
Before we unveil our favorites of Sundance Film Festival 2019, the juries and audiences have selected their 28 feature filmmaking picks from 121 total films. This year’s jurors featured Desiree Akhavan, Damien Chazelle, Dennis Lim, Phyllis Nagy, Tessa Thompson, Lucien Castaing-Taylor, Yance Ford, Rachel Grady, Jeff Orlowski, Alissa Wilkinson, Jane Campion, Charles Gillibert, Ciro Guerra, Maite Alberdi, Nico Marzano, Véréna Paravel, Young Jean Lee, Carter Smith, Sheila Vand, and Laurie Anderson.
Topped by the harrowing documentary One Child Nation, the prison drama Clemency, Joanna Hogg’s astounding The Souvenir, and the beautiful Honeyland, see the winners below and our complete coverage here.
2019 Sundance Film Festival Feature Film Awards
The U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary was presented by Rachel Grady to: Nanfu Wang and Jialing Zhang, for One Child Nation / China, U.S.A. — After becoming a mother, a filmmaker uncovers the untold history of China’s one-child policy and the generations...
Topped by the harrowing documentary One Child Nation, the prison drama Clemency, Joanna Hogg’s astounding The Souvenir, and the beautiful Honeyland, see the winners below and our complete coverage here.
2019 Sundance Film Festival Feature Film Awards
The U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary was presented by Rachel Grady to: Nanfu Wang and Jialing Zhang, for One Child Nation / China, U.S.A. — After becoming a mother, a filmmaker uncovers the untold history of China’s one-child policy and the generations...
- 2/3/2019
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
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
“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.” By us, she means the insurrectionist progressives at the center of filmmaker Rachel Lears’ emotional documentary “Knock Down the House,” which follows her and three other grassroots female candidates challenging local male Democratic incumbents in the 2018 Democratic primary.
Ocasio-Cortez has the most name recognition of the bunch, and the doc partially serves as a “Dreams From My Father”-type personal memoir for a millennial politician who has no need to publish a book as long as she has Instagram and Twitter. But the power of the film is that Ocasio-Cortez is not the only exceptional woman here. Lears introduces audiences to Paula Jean Swearengin, a coal miner’s daughter from Coal City, West Virginia who has witnessed firsthand how pollutants have...
Ocasio-Cortez has the most name recognition of the bunch, and the doc partially serves as a “Dreams From My Father”-type personal memoir for a millennial politician who has no need to publish a book as long as she has Instagram and Twitter. But the power of the film is that Ocasio-Cortez is not the only exceptional woman here. Lears introduces audiences to Paula Jean Swearengin, a coal miner’s daughter from Coal City, West Virginia who has witnessed firsthand how pollutants have...
- 1/30/2019
- by Amy Nicholson
- Variety Film + TV
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, one of Sundance’s most anticipated attendees, has canceled her trip to Park City, Utah.
The freshman Congresswoman announced the decision in a tweet.
“For almost two years, a mom followed several women as we ran for Congress. I was one of them,” she wrote.
“Due to complications from the gov shutdown, I’m sad to say I’ll miss @jubileefilms’ premiere of Knock Down the House. This film was made, with love, for people.”
“Knock Down the House” is Rachel Lears and Robin Blotnick’s kickstarter-funded documentary that followed four women who ran for Congress, including Ocasio-Cortez and Amy Vilela, Cori Bush, and Paula Jean Swearengin. It’s scheduled to premiere at Sundance Film Festival at the Marc Theater at 6 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 27.
As one of the hottest titles at Sundance, Variety wrote: “It’s all about these three letters: Aoc. They stand for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez,...
The freshman Congresswoman announced the decision in a tweet.
“For almost two years, a mom followed several women as we ran for Congress. I was one of them,” she wrote.
“Due to complications from the gov shutdown, I’m sad to say I’ll miss @jubileefilms’ premiere of Knock Down the House. This film was made, with love, for people.”
“Knock Down the House” is Rachel Lears and Robin Blotnick’s kickstarter-funded documentary that followed four women who ran for Congress, including Ocasio-Cortez and Amy Vilela, Cori Bush, and Paula Jean Swearengin. It’s scheduled to premiere at Sundance Film Festival at the Marc Theater at 6 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 27.
As one of the hottest titles at Sundance, Variety wrote: “It’s all about these three letters: Aoc. They stand for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez,...
- 1/26/2019
- by Erin Nyren
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Tribeca Film Institute, Gucci and the Oath Foundation today announced the 2018 grant recipients for the Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund.
Six feature-length films that explore social issues, especially those affecting women and girls, will receive a total of $150,000.
The program, funded by Gucci with additional support from Oath Foundation, provides production and finishing finances, along with year-round support and guidance from Tfi.
In a decade of operation, the fund has supported 85 films, providing more than $1.4 million in grants. This year, the supported projects spotlight a range of diverse issues including: the resolve of three female political candidates who are challenging powerful incumbents in Congress; the U.S. opioid crisis; the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico; an unlikely alliance formed during a religious war; and the story of three women officers who are fighting to transform and restore a community’s trust in the police department.
The grantees were...
Six feature-length films that explore social issues, especially those affecting women and girls, will receive a total of $150,000.
The program, funded by Gucci with additional support from Oath Foundation, provides production and finishing finances, along with year-round support and guidance from Tfi.
In a decade of operation, the fund has supported 85 films, providing more than $1.4 million in grants. This year, the supported projects spotlight a range of diverse issues including: the resolve of three female political candidates who are challenging powerful incumbents in Congress; the U.S. opioid crisis; the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico; an unlikely alliance formed during a religious war; and the story of three women officers who are fighting to transform and restore a community’s trust in the police department.
The grantees were...
- 11/12/2018
- by Dade Hayes
- Deadline Film + TV
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez did not come out of nowhere. The 28-year-old Democratic primary winner may have stunned the country last night when she unseated long-time Congressman Joe Crowley, but the Bronx-born daughter of a Puerto Rican immigrant, community organizer, and former Bernie Sanders campaigner did not just emerge from nothing to snap up the nomination and set alight the November race. It’s just that most people ignored her.
Even the New York Times looked past her, forcing the outlet to pen an explainer about Ocasio-Cortez in the early hours of the morning, long after her big win. “Before Tuesday’s victory catapulted her to the front of the political conversation, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez seemed to find readier audiences with outlets such as Elite Daily, Mic or Refinery29 — websites most often associated with millennial and female audiences — than with traditional publications,” the Times noted, pointing directly at other outlets that did not discount her campaign.
Even the New York Times looked past her, forcing the outlet to pen an explainer about Ocasio-Cortez in the early hours of the morning, long after her big win. “Before Tuesday’s victory catapulted her to the front of the political conversation, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez seemed to find readier audiences with outlets such as Elite Daily, Mic or Refinery29 — websites most often associated with millennial and female audiences — than with traditional publications,” the Times noted, pointing directly at other outlets that did not discount her campaign.
- 6/27/2018
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Every morning, thousands upon thousands of New Yorkers stop by their local coffee shop, grab a hot drink and perhaps a danish or bagel, and head off to work. It's a ritual and routine, one that isn't too expensive, and fuels the day. But that convenience comes at a cost. Behind the counter giving you change, sweeping the floor, washing the dishes, cleaning the counters, and preparing the food that you eat are countless undocumented workers, who work for below minimum wage, with few benefits, and the constant fear they'll lose their job. Many don't even realize that legally they are entitled to the same working conditions as any full-fledged American, and even those that do, don't press the issue, because they are concerned about protecting the paycheck that helps them provide for their families. But in one Upper East Side Hot And Crusty, workers took a stand because, when pushed to the brink,...
- 4/3/2015
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
The Hand That Feeds is a David and Goliath story playing out in the streets of New York. Directors Rachel Lears and Robin Blotnick document the struggle of the immigrant food service workers as they fight for their rights and respect. In doing so, they paint the future of the American labor movement a little bit brighter.It all starts at 63rd Street Hot & Crusty, a 24-hour deli franchise that has been serving many Upper East Side New Yorkers for more than a decade. Tired of getting underpaid and mistreated, some Mexican immigrant workers get involved themselves with Laundry Workers Center, a volunteer organization providing resources, legal services and training for the laundry and food industry workers, founded by tireless, passionate community activist Virgilio Arán. Some...
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- 4/2/2015
- Screen Anarchy
Festival top brass have announced their 2014 award-winners and declared this year’s event drew a record 25,000 attendance, up 28% on 2013.
Sherief Elkatsha’s Cairo Drive (pictured) earned the grand jury prize in the Viewfinders Competition, while Thomas Wirthensohn’s Homme Less took grand jury prize in the Metropolis Competition.
On the Shorts Competition the grand jury prize went to Danielle Schwartz for Mirror Image. The SundanceNow Doc Club Audience Award went to The Hand That Feeds by Rachel Lears and Robin Blotnick.
Winners of the grand jury prize in the Viewfinders and Metropolis competitions received a deliverables package provided by Technicolor-PostWorks New York and get a week-long awards-qualifying theatrical run at the IFC Center in 2015.
All in all the festival screened 92 feature-length documentaries from November 13-20 at IFC Center, Sva Theatre and the Chelsea Bow Tie Cinemas.
For further information click here.
Sherief Elkatsha’s Cairo Drive (pictured) earned the grand jury prize in the Viewfinders Competition, while Thomas Wirthensohn’s Homme Less took grand jury prize in the Metropolis Competition.
On the Shorts Competition the grand jury prize went to Danielle Schwartz for Mirror Image. The SundanceNow Doc Club Audience Award went to The Hand That Feeds by Rachel Lears and Robin Blotnick.
Winners of the grand jury prize in the Viewfinders and Metropolis competitions received a deliverables package provided by Technicolor-PostWorks New York and get a week-long awards-qualifying theatrical run at the IFC Center in 2015.
All in all the festival screened 92 feature-length documentaries from November 13-20 at IFC Center, Sva Theatre and the Chelsea Bow Tie Cinemas.
For further information click here.
- 11/20/2014
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
The Reva and David Logan Grand Jury Award went to Darius Clark Monroe’s Evolution Of A Criminal as the 2014 Full Frame Film Documentary Film Festival came to a conclusion (April 6).
Full Frame Audience Award – Feature went to Rachel Lears and Robin Blotnick’s The Hand That Feeds.
The Full Frame Jury Award for Best Short was presented to White Earth, directed by J Christian Jensen.
The Full Frame Audience Award – Short went to The Silly Bastard Next To The Bed by Scott Calonico.
For full results visit the official website.
Full Frame Audience Award – Feature went to Rachel Lears and Robin Blotnick’s The Hand That Feeds.
The Full Frame Jury Award for Best Short was presented to White Earth, directed by J Christian Jensen.
The Full Frame Audience Award – Short went to The Silly Bastard Next To The Bed by Scott Calonico.
For full results visit the official website.
- 4/6/2014
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
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