Punctuated by the sharp and witty political commentary of Pulitzer-prize winning editorial cartoonist Ann Telnaes (Washington Post) from her bird’s eye view in the cat seat of the United States capital, Washington D.C., top political analysts lay bare the complex history and challenges of the world’s most influential political system. Oscar-nominated Director Laura Nix trains her insightful lens on one of American democracy’s most extreme and vital moments in its nearly 250 years of existence. The film connects present-day crises with their roots in American history via commentary with A-list political observers who explore executive overreach, a crisis in judicial ethics, and a media environment saturated with disinformation, as the country grapples with fundamental challenges that transcend individual presidencies. With innovative dark humor, the film examines how the promise of American multiracial democracy faces a renewed backlash, culminating in fears of an actual authoritarian takeover.
Can the nation preserve its democratic ideals amidst severe polarization and a political party which has embraced extremism?
Join director Laura Nix and subject Ann Telnaes for a special post-screening discussion on Saturday, May 30.
Laura Nix is a Peabody award-winning, Oscar and Emmy-nominated filmmaker whose work includes the feature length documentaries Democracy Under Siege, Inventing Tomorrow, The Yes Men Are Revolting, and The Light In Her Eyes, as well as the short Walk Run Cha-Cha. Her award-winning work has premiered at Sundance, Toronto, and the Berlinale, appeared at hundreds of film festivals worldwide, and has been released theatrically and on television in the US and multiple international territories.
Ann Telnaes creates editorial cartoons in various mediums — animation, visual essays, live sketches and traditional print. She has won the Pulitzer Prize twice for her editorial cartoons in 2001 and 2025 and was awarded the National Cartoonists Society’s Reuben for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year in 2016 and the Herblock Prize for editorial cartooning in 2023. Ann resigned from The Washington Post after 16 years when a cartoon she submitted was rejected due to its criticism of billionaire tech and media executives.
TICKETS (+HST)
General: $15
Members: $10, $8, FREE