Dean and Me: Roadshow of an American Primary (2008)

Heath Eiden made "Dean and Me: Lessons from an American Primary" following the events of 911 as he suspected that fear would soon become a tool for certain figures in American history to profoundly change the nature and direction of American democracy for their own personal interests. This historic film captures what happens when a young couple stop swimming with the sharks in Manhattan and move to idyllic Vermont only to find you can't really ever get out of the water after all if you are Awake. When war breaks out, Director Heath Eiden sets out to see if Americans really do have a say in their democracy and can put a stop to the rush to give away basic rights and freedoms. The film monitors the mainstream media's function in our society as a the 5th pillar of democracy while asking, "is this any way to elect a President?" Using the resources around him, the director hits the road to find out the answers. Eiden creates his own media empire and press credentials and hits the road as "DeanTV's" lone correspondent. He uses Vermont Governor Howard Dean's epic 2004 rise and fall as a grassroots-powered presidential candidate as the hero Candide-like figure who jumps into the process to experience how American's are allowed only certain candidates as their President. As he knocks cameras across the country with big time media players, Eiden films everyone from grassroots foot soldiers to the big names of politics and media. The film serves as evidence of what happens to any outside-the-establishment challenges to the entrenched power of the two party political system Americans employ.