During Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign filmmakers A. Pennebaker and his wife Chris Hegedus shot 35 hours of footage in and around the chaotic headquarters in Little Rock, Arkansas, dubbed “The War Room”. Instead of gaining special access to the candidate himself, they get partial access to his campaign team. We get it all: the strategic phone calls to the press, the preparations for the debates with George H. W. Bush and Ross Perot, and the excitement around the latest polls.

The War Room mostly concentrates on the charismatic and passionate campaign leader James Carville (aka “Ragin’ Cajun”) and the more introverted but no less charismatic head of communications George Stephanopoulos. Together, they deliver all the ingredients of a successful campaign: shedding blood, sweat and tears while not lacking in shameless brutality—a characteristic that proves to be particularly useful when a list of alleged mistresses surfaces.

Sounds familiar? This documentary from the nineteen resonates in the 2016 Trump campaign. What will the 2020 presidency campaign bring us?

Prof. Roberta Haar (Prof. of Foreign Policy Analysis & Transatlantic RelationsUM) will give an introduction to the film.

In cooperation with Lumière Cinema