Rise Like Lions
Occupy Wall Street erupted in the fall of 2011, when a few hundred protesters camped in Zuccotti Park to challenge the influence of banks and the concentration of wealth, and within weeks the movement had spread to cities across the country. Director Scott Noble builds his account almost entirely from footage shot inside the encampments and gathered from participants online, mixing marches, general assemblies, and police confrontations with interviews from people who lived in the tents. The film follows the movement from its early momentum through its eviction from public spaces, tracking how a leaderless protest tried to organize itself without the usual structures of parties or unions. It stays close to the people involved rather than pundits or politicians, letting organizers and demonstrators explain what drew them to the park and what they hoped it would change. The result is a record of a specific American moment, built from the footage the movement generated about itself.