Documentaries

All In: The Fight for Democracy examines the history of voting rights and the threats to it in our time. A wake-up call, it cautions voters on the need to make a plan to vote and to be prepared.

Always in Season presents a harrowing interrogation of the legacy of lynching in the United States. The truth it reveals informs the fiercest voices in the expanding dialogue about white supremacy’s hold on dominant social systems.

American Heretics: The Politics of the Gospel is an intriguing exploration of progressive Christians attempting to reclaim the radical potential of their faith, a reminder that the teachings of Jesus are not exclusively and dogmatically Republican.

The Armor of Light profiles two Christians who bring their consciences to their crusade for gun control. One, a minister, observes that "we must be very careful we don't put the Second Amendment over the Second Commandment."

Cajun Navy tells the story of a flotilla of citizen activists that first came together during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Since then they have rescued more than 15,000 people during hurricanes, floods, and other disasters — modeling the power of the people.

City Hall gives a detailed view into the many things a city government does for its citizens and shows — through the example of Boston — what happens when social justice is at the center of a community's vision.

Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution offers a fascinating and intimate glimpse into the loving community that birthed such necessary legislation as the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act), presenting a playbook for ongoing organizing.

Dark Money exposes how political campaigns are being funded by corporations funneling unlimited donations through nonprofit organizations with little or no disclosure of where the money originates.

Fahrenheit 11/9 asks: As the United States veers closer to despotism, what can we do to save our democracy? Director Michael Moore paints a vivid and ugly picture of the challenges facing us and sees only a few pockets of hope.

John Lewis: Good Trouble is an inspiring documentary about the civil rights advocate and Democratic U.S. Representative from Georgia who modeled an ethic of love, nonviolence, and hope.

Knock Down the House takes a brisk and meaningful look at four courageous women who set their sights on the difficult task of defeating incumbents in very dramatic races for seats in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2018.

The Neutral Ground explores the contentious debates around the removal of Confederate statues in the South and seeks to understand what they reveal about racism in the United States today.

Parkland Rising charts the good that came out of the chilling gun violence at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida — an effective and ethically vibrant teen-led movement for gun reform.

Requiem for the American Dream is an interview with legendary MIT professor emeritus Noam Chomsky that illuminates the various forces which have brought about the death of the middle class, further elevating the rich and powerful.

Rise Again: Tulsa and the Red Summer investigates the severity and barbarity of race massacres in the United States. It issues a rallying cry for those who recognize that we must resist the same racism which endures to this day.

Slay the Dragon encourages us to realize what citizens are doing to protect and enrich democracy. The focus is on those fighting gerrymandering, the practice of redrawing electoral maps to ensure the future election of those from the political party in power.

Storm Lake shows how local newspapers function as a watchdog keeping track of what's happening in local government. By covering the gamut of news, they stitch the community together.

What Is Democracy? introduces us to thinkers and activists with varying perspectives — including Angela Davis, Cornel West, and William J. Barber — whose subject is the messiness of government of the people and by the people.

What the Constitution Means to Me is a film of a live Broadway play about how the personal becomes political. It reminds us that it's because of the Constitution that we can stand up and insist on a better future for the country.

Zero Days traces the opening salvos of cyber-warfare which have been shrouded in secrecy. It asks: How can people debate the value of something that is secret? How can treaties be negotiated if no one is told what these weapons can do?

Feature Films

Beasts of the Southern Wild tutors us about themes indispensable to democracy, like the need to depend on each other and repair the world — even more so when the regular political system leaves us behind.

The Best of Enemies tells of the true-life friendship that develops between an African-American community activist and the president of a chapter of the Ku Klux Klan as they discover they have more in common than they ever imagined.

Burden, based on a true story about a black Christian minister who practices forgiveness and reconciliation by befriending a Ku Klux Klan member, has great relevance to the malevolent contemporary activities of white supremacists.

David Byrne's American Utopia expresses the need for connection to be rooted in justice, turning the musical show’s effective celebration of collaboration into an equally urgent call to action.

Freedom Writers, through the true story of an idealistic and caring teacher, celebrates the unity that can arise out of diversity when individuals break down the walls that separate them from others.

Fruitvale Station looks at the shadow side of U.S. democracy in the compelling true story of a 22-year-old African American whose effort to turn his life around was cut short by a trigger-happy policeman.

The Good Lord Bird is a rousing, ribald, and immensely engaging miniseries that reframes many of the myths about the crusade of abolitionist John Brown to free America's slaves.

Irresistible uses a mayoral campaign in Wisconsin to question what might happen if the electorate, instead of being manipulated by politicians and their handlers, decided to upend the process.

Judas and the Black Messiah interrogates the history of government-sanctioned brutality against Black people through the true story of the enraging events that led up to the 1969 assassination of Black Panther Party leader Fred Hampton.

Little America, a series of eight half-hour dramas all inspired by true stories, conveys the rich smorgasbord of emotions experienced by immigrants. These positive portraits give us hope.

Marshall is a rousing courtroom drama about Thurgood Marshall as an ardent and idealistic NAACP lawyer — early in his lifelong crusade for justice — who works on a complicated criminal case in a town convulsed by racial bigotry.

Minari puts before our hearts and minds some of the essential sights and sounds of the United States, a country which retains its amazing capacity to nourish dreams, including those in the Korean-American family at the center of this film.

Nomadland takes us into a community of current-day nomads — "workampers" or "migrant workers" — who travel to places for temporary work. It's a seemingly solitary lifestyle that's full of opportunities for mutual support and compassion.

One Night in Miami imagines what each of four Black icons from sports, music, and activism brings to the dialogue about Black identity, ideals, and goals, exploring what it means to be free and where and when change is going to come.

The Post, with high regard for freedom of the press, illuminates the story behind The Washington Post's courageous decision to publish the Pentagon Papers, exposing decades of government lies about U.S. involvement in Vietnam.

Saint Judy is an ethically rich and emotionally literate film about Los Angeles immigration attorney Judy Wood, who earned the nickname "Saint Judy" from the many people whose lives she saved by her dogged diligence in deportation cases.

Selma, a convincing portrayal of how nonviolent action can effect social change, vividly conveys the complex struggles faced by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as he and others tried to win the allegiance of people to the civil rights movement.

The Society admirably catches the contradictions and mysteries of adolescents who are trying to make their way in the world as they transition from youth to adulthood. It is also a tutorial on how to create a democracy — or not.

The Trial of the Chicago 7, a spunky and sobering courtroom drama, reveals the breadth and depth of the struggle between traditional and countercultural Americans to define what the United States stands for.

12 Years a Slave compels us to confront the toxins of racism in the United States through its probing portrait of slavery's twisted prejudice and unrelenting cruelties. Without acknowledging these patterns, the country cannot move forward.