'A Mormon President' documentary

The documentary film titled "A Mormon President: The True Story of Joseph Smith and the Mormon Quest for the White House" is set for official release Aug. 15, according to director Adam Christing.

Despite original plans to release the film back in 2008, as documented in this Deseret News profile, Christing told the Deseret News today "we were planning to release the film in 2008. We never did. We did one test pre-screening in Salt Lake City, but the program was never released to the public or available in any form. We were hoping to get an interview with Romney — he declined — and then he dropped out of the 2008 race."

Though Christing never got the Romney interview, the trailer showcases interviews with many non-Mormon commentators as well as noted LDS scholars like Richard Bushman and Susan Easton Black.

"I think (the film) sheds historical light on this timely subject," Christing said. As to whether the film is a fair portrayal of the Joseph Smith story and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Christing stated, "when we screened the early version of the film in Salt Lake, non-Mormons thought it was a pro-Mormon piece. LDS attendees thought it was anti-Mormon."

Politico.com posted the Film's trailer on its web site Wednesday and blogger Maggie Habberman wrote, "Mormonism was a topic in the 2008 campaign because of Mitt Romney. (It's) doubly so now thanks to Jon Huntsman's candidacy, and (it) is now coming to the documentary big screen."

For more on the film read the Deseret News' 2007 piece on the movie here.

Email: hboyd@desnews.com