64 Days

In the summer of 2020, in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and at the height of the protests for social justice, I began making a film about division in America. I immersed myself with groups from the extreme left and right sides of the political spectrum and asked questions such as “what does it mean to be American?” and “What do all Americans have in common?” I was curious, perhaps even hopeful, I’d find a common ground or similar grievances. It wasn’t the case.

As the summer heated up, what became increasingly more alarming was that across America, the disorganized rhetoric behind the divergent groups of far-right protesters started to find focus. MAGA influencers and political operators deployed myriad tactics to radicalize a large population of people who supported Back the Blue, anti-vax, and covid lockdown protests, and amplified by President Trump and his tweets, these radicalized Americans started coalescing around the #stopthesteal campaign, a grass- roots political movement that sowed the seeds of doubt in the presidential election and unified everyone with the common goal of keeping Trump in power.

As #stopthesteal grew, so did the extremists and their fervor. I reached out to Enrique Tarrio, the leader of the Proud Boys, and he graciously invited me to embed with them at various protests as well as his home in Miami. In a matter of months, I filmed a men’s drinking club evolve into a militia vowing to control the streets, and soon, they’d become the boots on the ground catalyst for the January 6th insurrection.

What’s more, #StoptheSteal zealots, the Proud Boys, and President Trump followed through on exactly what they said they would do. For months on end, they boldly telegraphed that if Trump didn’t get the votes, there could be only one justification–it was a rigged election. As such, any means necessary should be used to take the country back. They orchestrated and instigated a coup in plain sight at our nation’s Capital.

While I have covered many conflicts all over the world, never in a million years would have ever predicted that one day I’d be filming on the frontlines of the battle for democracy in America at the steps of our nation’s capital. Nor could I have ever imagined that I’d be sitting in front of congressional hearings testifying to what I witnessed.

64 DAYS is without question the single most important film I’ve directed. I owe a great deal of gratitude to all the people at Goldcrest and Smuggler, as well as all the “fair witnesses,” scholars, and journalists who have helped me report the objective truth that now stands as a cautionary tale for our future. The erosion of democracy is a gradual process, until it isn’t. January 6 reminds us that for a democracy to be successful, it needs the honest participation of everyone.