They say that “democracy dies in darkness,” but a handful of new releases, including Mike Leigh’s Peterloo and Jordan Peele’s Us, argue otherwise in darkened theaters from sea to shining sea. This week, we discuss how these films—along with the work of Agnès Varda, Agnieszka Holland, and Frederick Wiseman—portray democracy on screen. Film Comment Editor in Chief Nicolas Rapold, contributing editor Amy Taubin, and FC contributor Shonni Enelow convene a quorum to explore how these filmmakers and films approach the messy, non-linear, and multi-faceted process of collective governance.