Democracy Dies In Darkness is a feature 60-minute documentary film. The film documents the five waves of the feminist movement from the 1970s to the 2020s and the future of the feminist movement. It explores the ongoing social war between the women’s rights movement and patriarchal societal institutions. The film amplifies the voices and stories of women, especially marginalized women, whose voices have been silenced by systemic oppression for decades.

 

Democracy Dies in Darkness is directed by Sarah and Leah Talabi and produced by Sarah and Leah Talabi, Phillip “Maverick” Westbrooks, Klem Talabi, Russ Levi, Madison Jiao, Emma Stevens and Alyssa McKnight.

 

Democracy Dies in Darkness features never-before-seen archival footage from the Women's Liberation Movement of the 1970s. It features interviews with leaders in the women’s right movement and feminist trailblazers including Betty Friedan, Hilary Clinton, and Gloria Steinam. The film resurrects the buried history of the women who founded the feminist movement in the 1960s and 70s and catalogs the evolution of the feminist movement through the 70, 80s, and 90s up to the present day.

 

DDID film uses a montage style of editing to combine lost new clips, interviews, and protest footage to create a comprehensive recollection of the feminist movement. It is a unique blend of archival footage and contemporary interviews that focuses on intersectionality and amplifies the role that women of color and the LGBTQ+ community have played in progression of feminist activism.

 

The film is a riveting and energetic visual experience, as it captures the feminist movement's greatest triumphs over the past five decades and the women who have dedicated their lives to securing equal rights for future generations of women. The film also highlights the enduring subordination of women and the ongoing struggle for gender equality.

 

Interviews and speech clips from leading female voices highlight how intersectionality is crucial to the future of the feminist movement. DDID film not only documents the past, but predicts the future of the feminist movement; examining how a new wave of female activists are moving us forward towards gender equality.