The Choice (2008) 

Writer and Producer, with director Michael Kirk and James Gilmore, of a two hour PBS special ‘Frontline’ film on the 2008 presidential election.  The film interweaves the political narratives/biographies of Barack Obama and John McCain, the two major party candidates, as a way to understand the ’08 electoral choice.  Aired three times nationally in October 2008, the film reached an estimated 7.8 million viewers for the broadcasts, and an additional 3.5 million viewers on-line before election day.  The St. Louis Post-Dispatch described ‘The Choice’ as “skilled storytellers working at the top of their game…to create an intellectual and emotional journey that can surprise you.”  The Boston Globe wrote that “these two hours are refreshingly free of campaign talking points,” while the Baltimore Sun found it “a nearly seamless two-hour film that moves with such focus and force that it feels more like 30 minutes… storytelling, is what drives this documentary with such velocity… This is biography with a capital "B" seeking to bag bigger prey: journalistic, if not historical, truth.”  And the Los Angeles Times saw it providing “a startling contrast to the rest of the news cycle.  Why… can't the actual campaign be a sensible as the "Frontline" documentary?”

Directed by Michael Kirk Produced by Jim Gilmore, Michael Kirk & Paul Stekler

Written by Michael Kirk & Paul Stekler