Manhattan Film Festival

The biggest secret in politics is the smallest office you could possibly run for. “County” is a documentary about County Committee—the fundamental building blocks of our democracy that our political Parties don’t want you to know about—and the activists in New York City fighting to unveil and reform a corrupt system within it. County Committee is your party representation in the very county you live in. Republican or Democrat, they decide your party's platform. They can replace vacated legislative offices and nominate local judges. Representing just a few blocks in your neighborhood, County Committee members are the most local officeholders in politics. But most people have never heard of them. There may be a reason for that. The “Party Machines” that run County Committee don’t like to talk about it. People like Vigie Ramos, AOC’s former campaign manager, and Theo Chino, a former Green candidate for Mayor, have taken on these machines and have been working to change that. As an investigative and advocacy piece, this film follows the efforts of Vigie, Theo, and other organizers in New York as they push to educate the public and drive ordinary citizens to engage with the system and run for County Committee themselves. Through interviews with activists and experts, animated visuals breaking down these local political systems, and revelatory guerrilla footage of Party Machines in action, “County” tells a story of political intrigue, suppression in American democracy and a grassroots movement to take the power back to the people.