AOC-Fronted ‘Knock Down The House’ Wins Sundance’s Festival Favorite Award

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 in Missouri – during the 2018 midterm elections as they took to the campaign trail, built and engaged their bases and built a movement.

The twentysomething Ocasio-Cortez had been scheduled to attend the premiere at Sundance but canceled her trip the day after the government shutdown ended. She was certain to be among the biggest stars at the fest and had been to appear at the customary afterparty on Park City’s Main Street too (which could have meant dancing), Instead, the tech-friendly freshman Representative for New York’s 14th District ended up addressing at the premiere crowd via Skype.