MSPIFF: Meet Heath Eiden (who met Howard Dean)

Heath Eiden bout a video camera to tape the cute things his baby son might do - but then a guy living up the road decided to run for president, and Eiden became a documantarian.

His movie "Dean and Me" gets it's world premier this weekend at MSPIFF

Eiden, who grew up in Minnesota, had moved to rural Vermont to get away from the hustle of New York, but he couldn't resist the bright lights of the Howard Dean campaign, and set himself up as Dean TV following what happened with the first big campaign really formed by the internet.

Political journalists will tell you how accessible the candidates become in New Hampshire, but Eiden found it was the journalists who were particularly easy to find, and he taped some remarkably candid moments with many of them along the way. He struck up a particular friendship with Tucker Carlson then with CNN.

Eiden also went back to his roots by travelling to Iowa to join old friend Ted Mondale as he door-knocked for Dean on a bitterly cold day. He was with Mondale watching Dean on TV when the candidate delivered the "Dean scream" which was the beginning of the end for the Dean campaign.

Talking from Vermont where he has been working on the doc for the past months he says he received invaluable help and encouragement from Minnesota, including from producer Deanna Kamiel. You can hear our chat here.

Eiden will introduce the film on Saturday evening at 5 pm.