Bridging the Political Divide: Documentary Debuts at Sundance Film Festival
A new documentary, “Bucks County, USA,” has debuted at the Sundance Film Festival, leading some to conclude that the historically liberal festival is moving towards the center. The film, which explores the political divisions in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, has been selected as an official selection at the Utah-based festival.
According to Paul Martino, the founder of Bullpen Capital and a featured subject in the documentary, the film’s inclusion at Sundance suggests a new openness to dialogue. “There is a new openness to dialogue,” Martino said in an interview with Fox News Digital. “I would say one of the things that is fascinating about ‘Bucks County, USA’ being chosen as an official selection at Sundance is it appears, in the era of Trump being re-elected, the well-known left-leaning Sundance Film Festival is moving to the middle.”
The documentary series, which is about the political divisions that have emerged in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the parents’ rights movement, has been praised for its focus on understanding and speaking to the other side. Martino, a conservative, has said that he encountered many people at Sundance who were open to the film’s message.
“It’s about all of the post-COVID policies and all of the things that happened at the school board level once a lot of the parents’ rights movement started, and the film dives into a lot of detail about the political division that happened, and it focuses, ironically, on the friendship of my daughter and her best friend, who is what I would describe as my political rival’s daughter,” Martino explained.
Despite the film’s liberal lean, Martino reported that he experienced a more open and receptive audience at Sundance, with even the filmmakers behind the festival expressing their appreciation for the film’s message. “Understanding and speaking to the other side and understanding who the other side is is important,” Martino said.