Netflix Bought the Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Doc ‘Knock Down the House’ for a Shocking Amount of Money

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is ready for her Netflix debut. The streaming giant has purchased political documentary Knock Down the House for a staggering $10 million at the Sundance Film Festival, where the film received the coveted Festival Favorite award. Directed by Rachel Lears, Knock Down the House follows four progressive female candidates, including Ocasio-Cortez, through the 2018 midterm election and charts their months-long campaigns against heavily-favored incumbents. According to Deadline, the film’s $10 million price tag makes it the most expensive documentary ever purchased at a film festival, breaking the $5 million record previously held by Netflix’s Icarus.

From the moment Knock Down the House debuted at Sundance, it was clear that it would be a huge draw for streaming services. After being elected the Festival Favorite, which is awarded to the film with the highest number of audience votes, Lears’ doc was courted by practically every distributor, including Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Focus Features, and NEON. Ultimately, Netflix won the day with its $10 million offer, effectively ensuring Ocasio-Cortez’s continued presence on our screens.

Apart from Ocasio-Cortez, the documentary follows St. Louis, Missouri nurse Cori Bush, Las Vegas businesswoman Amy Vilela, and West Virginia native Paula Jean Swearengin. Despite lacking political experience, all four women ran out of a conviction that the federal government can do more to benefit everyday Americans, and each faced an uphill battle against a popular incumbent candidate. Only Ocasio-Cortez came out victorious, but despite Bush, Vilela, and Swearengin’s loss, Knock Down the House does the important work of capturing the major shift (and a female one, at that) coming to American politics.

“It is a transcendent moment when skilled filmmakers are able to train their lens on a major transformation,” said said Lisa Nishimura, VP of Original Documentaries for Netflix, in a statement. “With intimacy and immediacy, Rachel Lears and Robin Blotnik bring viewers to the front lines of a movement, as four women find their voice, their power and their purpose, allowing all of us to witness the promise of true democracy in action.”

“We are thrilled to be partnering with Netflix on the release of Knock Down the House,” added Lears. “This platform will allow us to reach huge audiences worldwide, including viewers who may not usually watch independent documentaries. We’re also very excited to be working with Netflix on a campaign to spark wider cultural conversations about our democracy and how it can continue to evolve.”

Netflix has yet to announce a release date for Knock Down the House, but you can watch a trailer for the film above.