A New Netflix Doc Will Tell Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Story Up Close & Personal

The U.S. documentary film Knock Down The House tells the inspiring story of four progressive women who each ran for congress in the 2018 midterm elections. The doc follows Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Amy Vilela, Cori Bush, and Paula Jean Swearengin, all of whom are members of the Democratic Party in America. Production on the film began the day after the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election, and the film's world premiere was at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. If you're hoping for a behind the scenes look into this amazing political journey, here's how to watch Knock Down The House in the UK.

Those looking forward to the U.S. documentary are in luck, because according to Netflix, Knock Down The House will be available to stream on the platform as of Wednesday, May 1. As the Independent reports, the film is directed by Rachel Lears, and documents four Democratic candidates, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Amy Vilela, Cori Bush, and Paula Jean Swearengin, who were all running against incumbents in the 2018 midterm elections.

As reported by Deadline, the streaming service Netflix dished out a record-breaking amount of money in order to purchase the U.S. political documentary. The platform reportedly spent $10 million (£7.7 million) to acquire Knock Down The House, which won the Sundance Festival Favourite Award earlier this year.

In an interview with Variety, filmmaker Rachel Lears discussed her experience of creating the upcoming documentary. She reflected on the stunning victory of Democratic candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who managed to defeat career politician, Joe Crowley, in the Democratic primary for New York’s 14th District. When speaking about filming Ocasio-Cortez on that monumental day, she said:

"I was filming her all day. I was in the car with her on the way over from where she’d been canvassing in the Bronx until polls closed to the watch party. Nobody expected the results to come in so quickly, so as she was getting in the car she heard that things were looking good, but it was only 13 percent reporting . . . she made everybody turn off their phones in the car. She didn’t want to hear anything on the drive over. It was just this really nervous moment."

The Knock Down The House director went onto explain her own feelings following Ocasio-Cortez's unexpected victory. She revealed, "It was unbelievable. I’ve heard multiple people say to her and to me that they haven’t been as excited about a candidate since Obama. She was able to engage voters that have been neglected by the Democratic Party machine in New York City."

The appetite for political-based content seems to be stronger than ever before thanks to an extremely divided, and often unstable political landscape. By documenting the Democratic Party's take back of the House Of Representatives, director Rachel Lears has managed to offer viewers a unique insight into one of President Donald Trump's biggest political upsets — and I cannot wait to delve right into this thrilling documentary.

Knock Down The House is available to stream on Netflix on Wednesday, May 1.