Netflix Buys a Documentary on Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Campaign and We’re Here For it

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has practically become a household name these days between breaking records as the youngest woman in Congress to the way she confidently challenges the status quo in government. Now it looks like even the folks who don’t have AOC on their radar, soon will. A documentary about the 29-year-old Puerto Rican Bronx native and her midterm elections campaign just sold to Netflix for $10 million. We’re hyped — to say the least!

According to Deadline, the documentary which is titled Knock Down the House was sold to Netflix shortly after its premiere at Sundance. It provides a look into Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign trail while also showcasing other midterm election campaign candidates Amy Vilela from Las Vegas, Cori Bush from St. Louis, and Paula Jean Swearengin from West Virginia. For a lot of Ocasio-Cortez fans, this might not be much of an insight considering she has shared a lot during her campaign and since being a Congresswoman, in her Instatories and on Twitter. AOC is known for her transparency and constantly calling things out in politics. But regardless, the documentary still has our attention especially considering it ended up winning Sundance’s Festival Favorite Award. That says a lot!

In fact, according to Deadline, Netflix’s purchase of the documentary is the biggest documentary sale ever made at a film festival with Hulu, Amazon, Focus, and Neon trying to buy it. The Chicago Tribune reports that Ocasio-Cortez didn’t get to attend a screening of the film at Sundance due to the government shutdown but did call in via a Skype video call and apparently is content with the doc and how she’s being portrayed.

“I’m just so glad that this moment, for all four of us, was captured and documented — not just for the personal meaning of it, but for really everyday people to see that, yes this is incredibly challenging, yes, the odds are long, but also yes, that it’s worth it, and each and every single person who submits themselves to run for office is doing a great service to this country, including Amy, Paula and Cori,” Ocasio-Cortez said during her Skype call according to Newsweek.

@AOC Documentary, Knock Down the House was as powerful and painful as you can imagine going in. A 5 min standing ovation after the film says this one will be an expensive acquisition and easy Oscar campaign. Simply Incredible! #SundanceFilmFestival2019 pic.twitter.com/npUTnxMasH

— Mat Levy (@matblevy) January 28, 2019

“I think there’s a really strong connection between money in politics and representation in politics … When the conventional wisdom is that it takes at least $2 million to run a viable congressional campaign, people who have historically not had access to that kind of money are not going to run. So the film shows the work that it takes to pull off a grassroots campaign, but it also shows the personal work that candidates have to do when they are regular people to transform themselves into someone that can present this fresh vision of leadership,” says the director of Knock Down the House, Rachel Lears.

The Congresswoman has broken barriers in so many ways and her win wasn’t just historical but revolutionary. This documentary will not only capture that but proves the impact Ocasio-Cortez has had on American politics, in particular on young voters of color.

There’s still no word on when the documentary will be available to stream on Netflix but we highly suggest staying on top of AOC’s Twitter and Instagram accounts. Knowing her, she’s bound to share something!