The Sixth
Filmmaker Sean Fine 鈥�96 set out to make a documentary about the peaceful transition of power. It did not go as planned.
The assignment was fairly straightforward. Academy Award-winning documentarians Sean Fine 鈥�96 and his wife, Andrea Nix Fine, founders of Change Content, had hired a crew led by cinematographer Caz Rubacky to capture what was expected to be then-President Donald Trump鈥檚 last speech in office. It was Jan. 6, 2021.
鈥淚ronically, we were making a film about the peaceful transition of power,鈥� Fine explains.
Just before noon, Trump began addressing thousands of supporters from a park just south of the White House fence. As he had done for weeks prior, Trump repeatedly questioned the validity of the 2020 election. 鈥淎ll of us here today do not want to see our election victory stolen by emboldened radical-left Democrats, which is what they鈥檙e doing,鈥� he said. After speaking for more than an hour, Trump invited supporters to march to the Capitol, where Vice President Mike Pence was scheduled to officially certify the electoral vote and declare Joe Biden as the next president. 鈥淲e fight. We fight like hell and if you don鈥檛 fight like hell, you鈥檙e not going to have a country anymore,鈥� Trump told the crowd.
Twelve minutes after the speech鈥檚 conclusion, reports indicate as many as 15,000 people moved on the Capitol from multiple directions. Thus began an insurrection that would not end for nearly six hours.
鈥淗e had numerous chances to stop them, to get people to calm down,鈥� Fine contends. 鈥淵ou see in our film that when he finally did, it was too late.鈥�
Rubacky, watching firsthand as the crowd began marching toward the Capitol, reached out to Fine and Nix Fine to ask if he should go as well. They gave him the green light as long as he continued to feel safe. The footage Rubacky and his team captured would become the backbone of THE SIXTH, a feature documentary produced in collaboration with A24 and released in May.
Even for seasoned documentarians, the footage was shocking.
鈥淚t was like seeing the worst of human nature unfold for hours,鈥� Nix Fine says. 鈥淭here鈥檚 this one moment that always sticks with me. There鈥檚 this man up by the tunnel. He鈥檚 there within the whole group of insurrectionists, but he鈥檚 screaming, 鈥榃e鈥檙e better than this! Stop!鈥� And he鈥檚 trying to scream into this crowd of 10,000 people. It鈥檚 just heartbreaking. But it also pisses you off.鈥�
THE SIXTH tells the story of the day from the perspectives of six individuals who were there: freelance photographer Mel D. Cole, Rep. Jamie Raskin, Congressional staffer Erica Loewe, Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Chief Robert J. Contee III, and MPD Officers Daniel Hodges and Christina Laury.
鈥淲e wanted the film shaped by the words and emotions of people who went through it themselves. Everyone had a moment鈥攐r a few moments鈥攚here they thought their life might end or something really bad would happen. It was so important to us to show that,鈥� Fine says.
鈥淲e always talk about [the severity of] things based on how many people died. But I think there鈥檚 a toll that something like this takes. It鈥檚 not worse than people dying, but it鈥檚 bad.鈥�
And yet, the film also reveals moments of hope and bravery, Fine says, pointing to the fact that each of the film鈥檚 subjects鈥攁nd many public servants on the scene鈥攃hose to stay and defend the established democratic process.
鈥淛amie Raskin, he did the right thing; he stayed all night. [Officers] Daniel Hodges and Christina Laury, they did the right thing, stayed on for hours, kept returning to the front line. They all were injured; they all could鈥檝e just gone home. They believed in something about this country,鈥� he says.
Despite the fact that the attack on the Capitol is 鈥渢he most filmed crime scene鈥� in U.S. history, Nix Fine says many Americans haven鈥檛 truly grappled with its impact.
鈥淭his film felt like what we can do鈥攖o be good citizens, to be good filmmakers, to be good human beings,鈥� she says. 鈥淵ou owe it to yourself, as a citizen of this country, to understand what happened that day.鈥�
THE SIXTH is available for purchase or rent on streaming services including Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play and YouTube, and Fine and Nix Fine have also launched a 鈥淪tream It Forward鈥� campaign to bring the film to as many theaters and college campuses as possible.
To learn more, visit .