Watch American Troubles: A Tale of Two Democracies (2026) Online Free
America's democracy feels more divided than ever - but what if the problem lies in how we vote? "American Troubles" explores whether proportional representation could break the cycle of dysfunction, drawing comparisons from two striking case studies: Portland, Oregon, where a bold new voting system is reshaping local politics, and Northern Ireland, where proportional elections helped end decades of violent conflict. Blending history, reform, and human stories, the film shows how electoral rules can entrench division - or create space for compromise.
Cast
George Cheung, Colin Joseph Cole, Heather Villanueva
More Like This
The Ferryman
When his brother’s body is unearthed, a grieving man faces an IRA agent determined to keep him quiet, testing where his loyalties truly lie.
2025
Pickles, Pickles, Pickles
The Portland Pickles are upending the entertainment world without compromising the essence of America’s pastime. As the #1 attended collegiate wood bat team in America, they draw fans from all walks of life with a bold embrace of local culture and community spirit. Experience the beauty, excitement, and passion of local summer baseball with the next wave of MLB stars.
2025
The Flats
In his tower-block apartment in New Lodge, Joe reenacts memories from his childhood amidst the “Troubles”. In this Catholic area of Belfast, the number of deaths was tragically significant. Joe is joined by neighbours Jolene, Sean, Angie, and others, all willingly participating in this process of revisiting the collective memories that shaped their lives and the district they live in.
2025
No Place to Grow Old
No Place to Grow Old is the first documentary to capture a growing crisis unfolding quietly across America: older adults aging into homelessness. Set in Portland, Oregon, this film follows the lives of three older adults navigating the harsh realities of life without a home. Through their stories of hardship and resilience, the film offers an intimate portrayal of their challenges while illuminating the systemic issues contributing to their plight. Featuring insights from local and national experts, No Place to Grow Old is a powerful call to action that emphasizes dignity and hope, envisioning a future where everyone, regardless of age, has a safe and secure place to call home.
2024
History, Mystery & Odyssey: Six Portland Animators
Martin Cooper’s documentary feature explores the lives and work of six internationally renowned, independent animators and animation directors. These multi-award-winning artists are Jim Blashfield, Rose Bond, Joan C. Gratz, Zak Margolis, Joanna Priestley and Chel White. Their animated films span a period of over 40 years and reflect a wide range of techniques, from direct animation and classic stop-motion, through 3D models, clay painting, computer-generated imagery up to AI. History, Mystery & Odyssey is entirely filmed in Portland Oregon, where all these animators live and work.
2023
Troubled
While the overt violence and conflict associated with the Troubles may have subsided since the Good Friday Agreement, it is true that many people in Northern Ireland continue to be affected by the legacy of the conflict. This includes individuals who were directly impacted by the violence, as well as those who continue to struggle with the social, economic, and political consequences of the conflict. While the actual violence and conflict may have ended, the legacy of the Troubles still lingers on in Northern Ireland; many are still struggling to come to terms with what happened and find a way to move forward.
2023
Maze
Inspired by the true events of the infamous 1983 prison breakout of 38 IRA prisoners from HMP Maze, which was to become the biggest prison escape in Europe since World War II.
2017
I Am Belfast
Belfast, it's a city that is changing, changing because the people are leaving? But one came back, a 10,000 year old woman who claims that she is the city itself.
2016
Lohnunternehmen: 5 Länder - 5 Geschichten
2016
Mairéad Farrell: An Unfinished Conversation
Mairéad Farrell was shot dead by the SAS in Gibraltar in 1988 along with two other unarmed members of the IRA in one of the most controversial incidents arising from the Troubles in Northern Ireland. She had just been released from prison the year before after serving ten years for causing an explosion at an hotel near Belfast. The killing of the three provoked an international outcry and eventual enquiry. Due to her youth, her gender and her stature within the IRA, Mairéad Farrell was, unsurprisingly, quickly subsumed into the pantheon of Irish republican martyrs. But behind the mythologizing and demonisation of the time, there was also a real person, a flesh and blood young woman who was prepared to kill and die for her beliefs.
2014
The Magic Box
A special live broadcast on both BBC and UTV, hosted by Eamonn Holmes, celebrating the best of Northern Ireland television over the past 60 years and marking the occasion of digital switchover.
2012
Hunger
The story of Bobby Sands, the IRA member who led the 1981 hunger strike during The Troubles in which Irish Republican prisoners tried to win political status.
2008
The Brighton Bomb
It was the most notorious terrorist incident since the Gunpowder Plot - an attempt by the IRA to wipe out the entire UK government on 12 October 1984 as it convened on the south coast. Award-winning journalist Peter Taylor remembers the carnage as special effects and emotional testimony from survivors combine in a tense reconstruction. Followed by The Hunt for the Bomber.
2004
Battle of the Bogside
Feature documentary on the 3-days of riots in Derry, Northern Ireland that led to the deployment of British Troops into Derry in August 1969.
2004
Bloody Sunday
The dramatised story of the Irish civil rights protest march on January 30 1972 which ended in a massacre by British troops.
2002
Daughters of the Troubles: Belfast Stories
The women of Belfast played a unique role in holding together their families and communities during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Filmed during the fragile 17-month paramilitary cease-fire, Daughters of the Troubles: Belfast Stories looks at the challenges facing women trying to put their direct experience of grassroots problems on the agenda of the established political parties. Their strength, first exhibited on the community level, started to reach a wider public.
1996
The Living Flame
Commemoration of the 1916 Easter Rising in Ireland, commissioned for its 50th anniversary.
1966
The Day Called X
Portentously portrays the evacuation of Portland, Oregon, when threatened by a nuclear attack on its state-of-the-art civil defense system.
1957
Remember
This short documentary produced by the University of Oregon Multimedia Journalism graduate program explores memories of Portland's Japantown – Nihonmachi – and the thriving Japanese American community in Oregon prior to World War II. The film features Chisao Hata, an artist, teacher and activist, and Jean Matsumoto, who was incarcerated at the Portland Assembly Center and in the Minidoka concentration camp as a child.
Popular Science J-0-1
A disaster truck, which is equipped to meet practically any emergency that arises in the community; In Oklahoma a breeder of under-slung cattle, making possible smaller grazing areas for milk herds; a deburping machine, of all things.
1940