At The DNC In Denver, Drama Was Behind The Scenes

SILVER SPRING, MD -- The sights, sounds and emotions of the '08 Democratic National Convention are captured in a new documentary -- titled simply 'Convention' -- that had its world premiere tonight at the American Film Institute's annual SILVERDOCS festival.

Director AJ Schnack unleashed four teams of well-known documentarians in Denver last August with the goal of portraying what a major city goes through when it plays host to the quadrennial political show. Participants reduced 90 hours of footage of journalists, protestors, city officials, police and politicians to a tight 90 minutes. The final product reveals the near-constant fear of disorder that dogged city officials. It also highlights reporters' struggles to navigate a suddenly fortress-like city strapped with security.

But the film also makes Denver itself a star. Thanks to Barack Obama's nomination, it secured its place in history as the setting to an historic moment -- when America met a its first major-party presidential nominee who wasn't white and male.

(And if that wasn't drama enough, the movie captures the now-forgotten PUMAs, too.)

Schnack said he was fortunate to be there for Obama's acceptance speech, but the star of the event wasn't his target.

"Our guidelines for the filmmakers was that every character had to be from Denver," Schnack said at a pre-premiere panel event this afternoon. "The backdrop of the film was the event -- the event was not the film."

Conventions are an increasingly superfluous part of the presidential election process; floor battles for the nomination are a thing of the past. But as 'Convention' showcases, those four days can still be intensely stressful for those who organize, manage, protest and cover one. Schnack's film gives a rare glimpse of the sweat effort it takes to make a major political happening seem effortless.

(EVAN McMORRIS-SANTORO)