Donald Trump recently announced that he will hold an “awards gala” in honor of the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the US Capitol – just the latest example of the continued revisionist history and whitewashing of the extreme violence that took place that day. However, the A24 film “The Sixth” documents through gruesome footage what really happened, and how it was ultimately the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington, D.C. that saved the government from being overthrown by a huge, deadly mob when the National Guard , stationed just a few miles away. away, didn’t show up.
Filmmakers Andrea Nix Fine and Sean Fine had a camera crew at Trump’s DC rally on January 6 (which took place as Congress certified Joe Biden as president), and some of what they captured appears in ‘The Sixth’ . But many of the documents were pieced together by cameras and other videographers located in and around the Capitol. (However, the duo say they did not pay for footage of real insurgents).
Perhaps the most shocking footage takes place inside an access tunnel to the Capitol, where just a handful of MPD officers are bloodied and beaten for hours as they form the last line of defense. As the film drives home, a bloody coup that day was much more real than most people realize.
“This city is my home. My house was invaded. And the police officers and policewomen who protect our home were abused for hours,” Fine said. ‘When I look at those images in that tunnel where all that violence is coming down, I can tell you: if those people had come in, I think we would have read very different headlines. Some very violent people said, “You’re going to die tonight.” It’s a gang, it’s a riot, I think people have gone crazy. If those people came in, we wouldn’t see the guy with the horns and that shaman thing anymore. We would see really bad scenes of people abusing others. DC police prevented this from happening. And that was very important for us to tell.”
“The Sixth” does not harbor a partisan position; rather, it happens primarily through the lens of six people who were there that day: a surprisingly candid MPD Chief Robert J. Contee III; Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.); MPD Officers Christina Laury and Daniel Hodges; Erica Loewe, deputy director of communications for then-Rep. Jim Clyburn (DS.C.); and photographer Mel D. Cole (pictured below), who ended up in the middle of the crowd and has perhaps the most terrifying eyewitness view of anyone.
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All six are still shocked by what they saw and experienced, and all say it is critical to the preservation of democracy in the United States that the true story of January 6 be known to as many people as possible – and not just but the same images seen on the news, showing only a fraction of the brutality.
That’s why Nix Fine and Fine are frustrated with the distribution of “The Sixth,” which was released on demand in May. The filmmakers say A24 initially told them that “The Sixth” would be available to stream on Prime Video, which would open the door to a much wider audience. That hasn’t worked out so far, although insiders say such a plan is still in the works and it’s up to Prime Video to make that decision. The document is available to rent or buy, but that narrows the potential audience versus having it available to stream by all Prime subscribers.
“We have a lot of questions and we don’t have any answers,” Fine said. “You can only speculate. I keep hearing that no one wants to do anything political. We know how films work and are rolled out. And at this point it’s telling that we’ve done everything, including our own press. Everything has been from scratch. For a big-budget documentary like this, that’s a bit strange. But I don’t want to constantly ask those questions and be angry, I want to channel it and do something. The elections are going on soon. And this is important.”
(It’s probably worth noting here that, despite some speculation, insiders say the timing of securing a new round of funding led by Josh Kushner’s investment firm Thrive Capital is a coincidence. Kushner has joined the board of directors, but insiders say distribution decisions have been made before. What drives that suspicion: Josh is the younger brother of Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and former senior adviser.)
A24 and Prime Video declined to comment on the fate of “The Sixth” on streaming. In the meantime, Nix Fine and Fine, through their Change Content banner, have launched a “Screen It Forward” campaign to offer screenings of the document at theaters, college campuses and other locations in battleground states during the election. Change Content’s partners include: Indivisible, which distributes toolkits and media guides, and Gathr, which finds locations to screen “The Sixth.”
As part of “Screen It Forward,” organizations and individuals can contribute tax-deductible donations to cover the cost of individual tickets, sponsor seats for an entire theater or donate screenings for an entire constituency. Indivisible will launch its impact campaign on September 23 with screenings in locations including Bensalem, Pennsylvania; Camp Hill, PA; Elizabeth, NJ; Kingston, NY; Lancaster, California; Las Cruces, NM; Missoula, Mont.; Scottsdale, Ariz.; Vancouver, Washington; Vestal, NY; and West Homestead, Pennsylvania, with more locations on the way.
“It’s natural to want to compartmentalize and bury the horrific events of January 6, 2021 deep in our memories – but we can’t forget it,” said Leah Greenberg, co-founder and co-CEO of Indivisible. “’The Sixth’ is a powerful film that reminds us of what is at stake in this election. Indivisible is proud to partner with Change Content and A24 to ensure everyone knows what’s on the ballot this November, and never forgets the stain on our democracy.”
Scott Glosserman, CEO of Gathr, added: “’The Sixth’ serves as an essential reflection on our democratic values, and through the ‘Screen It Forward’ initiative we want to make this important story accessible to audiences across the country .”
Nix Fine says the goal is to get at least 50,000 Americans watching “The Sixth” before the election.
“We want to bring this to people’s attention before they vote and make sure they are informed before they vote,” she said. “Democracy is very precious, and we all have a role to play in it.”