Brent Lang Rachel Lears Washington film country Progressive Climate Brent Lang Rachel Lears Washington

Rachel Lears on Following Up ‘Knock Down the House’ With a Darker Look at the Climate Crisis

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variety.com

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaIn 2019, Rachel Lears electrified Sundance with “Knock Down the House,” a fly-on-the-wall look at a group of progressive candidates hoping to ride grassroots campaigns to Washington.

That film, which played like cri de coeur while the Trump administration was at the height of its power, also benefitted from capturing Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez while she was still a bartender turned upstart congressional hopeful, a bit of kismet that resulted in a $10 million sale to Netflix.Three years later, Lears returns to Sundance in a different key with “To the End.” It’s a more somber look at a group of activists who are trying to do everything possible to pressure the U.S.

government to get serious about combatting the climate crisis. If “Knock Down the House” ended more triumphantly with Ocasio-Cortez being ushered in to a position of great influence, “To the End” premieres as President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda is being held in limbo, and with it much of his push to wean the country off fossil fuels and promote alternative sources of energy.

Hope and optimism have curdled as gridlock sets in. “It’s very much about how impossible things become possible through movements,” says Lears. “It’s a darker story than ‘Knock Down the House’ and more complex in many ways.”Once again, Ocasio-Cortez plays a central role in the drama, but Lears’ cast of characters also includes three millennials, all women of color, who are agitating for change.

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