Its success helped inspire an onslaught of political films in theaters and home video unlike any previous year. Television biographies are common during election season, but theatrical films have until now been rare. The most successful pre-Fahrenheit political documentary was The War Room, an Oscar-nominated look at the first Clinton campaign. It was not released until 1993, a year after the election. Likewise, the acclaimed documentary A Perfect Candidate, about Oliver North's unsuccessful 1994 Senate campaign, did not appear until 1996.

Among the works tied to this year's election are:

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LOCAL SCREENINGS

Cincinnati World Cinema will screen several political films in its Documentaries for Democracy Film Festival Oct. 15-21 at Mount Lookout Cinema Grill, 3187 Linwood Ave. Among the features are Hijacking Catastrophe: 9/11, Fear & the Selling of American Empire, a critique of the Bush administration's policies since 9/11 narrated by Julian Bond; and Unprecedented: The 2000 Presidential Election, 2004 Campaign Edition, an updated edition of a critical look at the contentious election that ultimately was decided by the Supreme Court. Unprecedented co-director Joan Sekler will attend screenings at 7 and 9:15 p.m. Oct. 16. (A screening of Unprecedented at 9:15 p.m. on Oct. 18will be a fund-raiser for Women of Ohio; tickets are $10; $8 students. ) Also on tap are What America Needs, There's Something About W, Invisible Ballots and Before You Don't Vote. Tickets are $8, or $6 for students, or $14 and $10 for students for two films on the same day. Advance tickets:at www.ticketfusion.com/cincyworldcinema. For a complete schedule and details on discussion leaders, go to www.communityzero.com and register for free access to www.cincyworldcinema.com. Free parking is available in the upper lots behind CVS Pharmacy; enter via Alpine Terrace.

• Buried in the Sand: The Deception of America (on video) - A pro-Bush documentary about the atrocities committed by the Saddam Hussein regime.

• Bush Family Fortunes: The Best Democracy Money Can Buy (on video Tuesday) - Journalist Greg Palast covers many of the same criticisms of George W. Bush that Moore used in Fahrenheit 9/11.

• Bush's Brain (on video Oct. 12) - Directors Joseph Mealey and Michael Shoob based this critical documentary on the book by James C. Moore and James Slater about Bush adviser Karl Rove.

• Confronting Iraq (Release TBA) - Director James Woolsey makes the case in favor of the Iraq invasion.

• DC 9/11 Time of Crisis (On video) - A pro-administration enactment of the events surrounding Sept. 11, 2001, written by veteran filmmaker Lionel Chetwynd.

• George W. Bush: Faith in the White House (On video) - A documentary celebrating the effect of religious faith on the president's performance in office.

• Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry (Theatrical release TBA) - George Butler's sympathetic biography of the Democratic presidential nominee.

• Mega Fix: The Dazzling Political Deceit that Led to 9/11 (Release TBA) - Documentary blaming the Sept. 11 attack on the Clinton administration.

• Michael Moore Hates America (Release TBA) - First-time filmmaker Michael Wilson interviews people who disagree with Moore.

• Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism (On video) - Filmmaker Robert Greenwald and a team of volunteers monitored Fox News 24 hours a day to compile this indictment of the conservative cable outlet.

• Silver City (Local release Oct. 8) - Filmmaker John Sayles' fictional tale of a tongue-tied gubernatorial candidate is an explicit parody of Bush's first campaign for Texas governor.

• Uncovered: The Whole Truth about the Iraq War (On video) - Greenwald also produced this documentary that argues the Bush administration repeatedly changed its justifications for invading Iraq.

E-mail mmcgurk@enquirer.com