Coming at a moment of profound political and social crisis, “What Is Democracy?” reflects on a word we too often take for granted. Director Astra Taylor’s idiosyncratic, philosophical journey spans millennia and continents: from ancient Athens’ groundbreaking experiment in self-government to capitalism’s roots in medieval Italy; from modern-day Greece grappling with the financial collapse and a mounting refugee crisis to the United States reckoning with its racist past and the growing gap between rich and poor.

Featuring a diverse cast—including celebrated theorists, trauma surgeons, activists, factory workers, asylum seekers, and former prime ministers—this urgent film connects the past and the present, the emotional and the intellectual, the personal and the political, in order to provoke and inspire. If we want to live in a democracy, we must first ask what the word even means.

Astra Taylor is a filmmaker, writer, and political organizer. She is the director of philosophical documentaries, author of the American Book Award winner The People’s Platform: Taking Back Power and Culture in the Digital Age, and a co-founder of the Debt Collective. She is a Shuttleworth Foundation Fellow and a former touring member of the band Neutral Milk Hotel.