Lost amidst the chaotic scenes replayed endlessly in the days and months after January 6th were the real human stories of those who witnessed democracy under siege from within the halls of Congress. The Sixth, directed by Andrea Nix Fine and Sean Fine, set out to contextualize the events of that day through the lens of those directly in the line of fire rather than the sensationalized snippets that have come to define public understanding. Through largely untapped archived footage from the front lines and deeply personal interviews with eyewitnesses, the filmmakers offer a more holistic accounting of the trauma inflicted on both the targets and defenders of the insurrection alike.

On that winter day in 2021, a mob incited by the lies of a stolen election breached the US Capitol building in an attempt to overturn the presidential election results through violence. While the images broadcast to a horrified nation...