Director Astra Taylor’s idiosyncratic, philosophical journey spans millennia and continents: from ancient Athens’s groundbreaking experiment in self-government to capitalism’s roots in medieval Italy; from modern-day Greece grappling with financial collapse and a mounting refugee crisis to the United States’ reckoning with its racist past and the growing gap between rich and poor. Featuring a diverse cast—including celebrated theorists, trauma surgeons, activists, factory workers, asylum seekers, and former prime ministers—this urgent film connects the past and the present, the emotional and the intellectual, the personal and the political, in order to provoke and inspire. Featuring interviews and commentary by Angela Davis, Cornel West, and more.
"In its first five minutes, WHAT IS A DEMOCRACY?, a new documentary by the writer, organizer, and filmmaker Astra Taylor, provides more possible answers to her titular question than most English-language media does in a year.” —Masha Gessen, The New Yorker
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