Documentaries capture political rising stars
Amazon Prime on Nov. 12 released a new documentary about one of the rising political stars whose emergence in the 2020 U.S. presidential campaign surprised many.
Pete Buttigieg is the first openly gay presidential candidate, a veteran, a Harvard grad who traded one nickname for another this year: “Mayor Pete” is now “Secretary Pete,” the first openly gay Cabinet secretary and the youngest secretary of transportation ever.
Acclaimed documentarian
Jesse Moss trained his lens on Buttigieg during his meteoric rise to political fame in the 2020 election, and the result is the illuminating documentary
“Mayor Pete” takes a granular look at the process that it takes for the unknown mayor of a Midwestern city (and one with a unique backstory) to launch himself onto the national stage and take a presidential election featuring a who’s who of longtime Washington stalwarts by storm. At the center of the chaos, Buttigieg remains calm, unflappable and informed, almost so stoic that his communications director Lis Smith spends almost the entire running time of the film encouraging him to open up emotionally.
It’s a fascinating look at one of America’s political rising stars, a portrait of someone at the beginning of what’s sure to be a long and meaningful career in Washington. “Mayor Pete” follows on the heels of another political film directed by Moss, directed with longtime collaborator Amanda McBain, the award-winning
which premiered on Apple TV+ in 2020. “Boys State” takes look at a Texas political camp for teenage boys, a riveting reflection of our contemporary political culture.
There have been several documentaries about our new political stars, including the inimitable young Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, whose campaign was depicted in the 2019 Netflix documentary “Knock Down the House,” directed by Rachel Lears. Stacey Abrams, the former Minority Leader of the Georgia House of Representatives and gubernatorial candidate, and her fight against voter suppression are profiled in the 2020 documentary
In: The Fight for Democracy” directed by Liz Garbus and Lisa Cortés (Garbus also serves as a producer on “Mayor Pete.”). Stream that film on Amazon Prime.