Director Steve Pink, a self-described liberal, was an unlikely candidate to make a film about former Illinois Representative Adam Kinzinger, who is often categorized as a “ribbed” conservative.

Includes credits from the Illinois-born filmmaker Grosse Pointe Blank, High Fidelity and not one but two Hot tub time machine movies. Still, Kinzinger was an intriguing character to follow: Kinzinger, a prominent member of the House Select Committee on the Jan. 6 attack, faced harsh backlash from his constituents and fellow Republicans. And in the year that Pink’s cameras were rolling, Kinzinger was ultimately re-elected outside of re-election.

The last Republican is making the rounds at major film festivals including Toronto and Chicago, but has yet to be picked up by a distributor for wider release. WBEZ host Mary Dixon spoke with Pink about behind-the-scenes moments, the weight of January 6 and the director’s surprising chemistry — and now friendship — with Kinzinger. This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

You were born in Evanston, a Hollywood director and your politics are left-wing. Why would you take on a project that centers on a prominent Republican?

I don’t know, Maria. What the hell was I thinking?

You are so known for comedy, film and theater, but here you are making a documentary about this very serious subject and a very serious Republican, who is actually one of the last of the old school.

I’ve always been a political junkie, and you’re right in saying that Adam Kinzinger was someone I never thought I’d make a movie about. But (this was) the opportunity to make a political documentary about someone who rose up against Donald Trump and his own party in the aftermath of January 6, and lost his job and many of his friends as a result. His extended family members wrote a letter to the New York Times calling him a member of the devil’s army. And so he was someone who was an incredibly compelling documentary subject for me.

Eric Charbonneau/Invision/AP

Who do you think the audience is for this film?

I think it’s everyone. It’s a profile of someone who sacrificed a lot for what he believed in, and I think this is a real, relatable subject. I’ve always found it interesting that it’s actually in his job description to uphold the Constitution. And so the fact that 140 Republicans decided to renege on their oath (editor’s note: by objecting to efforts to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election) is quite shocking. And yet it seems like something that everyone might not take for granted, but doesn’t think is that big of a deal. And Adam clearly thought his oath to the country was a big deal. I think that’s a recognizable thing. I think when someone stands up for their truly held beliefs, it becomes a film that people can see the importance and value of in their own lives.

You grew up in Evanston. Adam Kinzinger grew up in central Illinois and was a congressman from northern Illinois. You come from very different regions and different places politically, which Kinzinger mentions right away in the film. He even calls you a communist, which I’m not sure you agreed with. Why did you leave that exchange in?

Well, I would immediately correct him and say: progressive, but sure. I left many exchanges that were a spirited back and forth between us. At the beginning of the film he says, “I think you disdain my views,” which I disagree with, which was more or less my first feeling. But then we form a friendship of sorts as I film him going through the experiences of his last year in Congress, and as a result the film becomes a kind of film about the importance of civil debate. That was a change; for example, I started making the film as a profile of courage. And what it eventually evolved into was this movie about two people with opposing views who could figure out how to get along with each other.

By the end you call him brother.

I don’t think there is anyone in this country. If you ask them directly whether or not it’s gotten too hot, they’re not going to say, ‘Yes, this is a national problem.'” And so I think we can do that. figuring out a way to not only communicate, but also see the humanity in the person in front of you, even if you don’t agree with something they say, will be critical to the health and future of our country, without any doubt.

The documentary is in many ways a behind-the-scenes autopsy of the House Select Committee charged with investigating the January 6 Capitol riots. What surprised you most about this process and how does it show up on film?

Well, we were so lucky, and I’m so grateful that (Mississippi Rep.) Bennie Thompson, the committee chairman, allowed our camera into the hearing room – that we were the only camera, besides the C-SPAN cameras, to capture what was happening in the room, and you could feel what was at stake for everyone. That was something you don’t necessarily get on TV. It’s cut in a certain way. As a TV viewer you absorb information, but when you were in the room it was palpable. It was striking. Everyone there knew this was an extraordinary moment, and telling that story was of the utmost importance.

You also show the backlash for Kinzinger’s service on the special committee. It’s fast. It’s brutal. In the film we see staff and family dealing with these verbal and death threats, and you were there too. What was it like seeing that behind the scenes?

In the beginning, when the death threats first started coming in, it was hard for anyone to comprehend how serious they were. I mean, you can call your congressman, and many do, and complain about all kinds of things. And some are more extreme than others.

But as the death threats increased, they also became more terrifying and violent. Everyone in the office, Adam Kinzinger’s staff and Adam too, had to take real precautions. There is a point in the film where the staff talks about all the precautions they had to take. They had emergency panic buttons under their desks. They had Capitol Police outside Adam’s office. Adam eventually had to get a personal escort from the Capitol Police in Washington, and then also a security company outside his home in Channahon, Illinois, where Sophia, his wife, had just given birth to their son, Christian. So it was very, very serious and, I think, scary, but everyone knew that they had to keep doing their work and that it was important to all of them. They all united as a staff to continue doing the work in the office.

I think a lot of people don’t realize how young a lot of congressional staff are, and you show the emotional impact on these young people in this office, the impact of this abuse and these threats. Why did you think it was important to include that?

When I was in the office and the camera was off, I would just talk to the staffers about whatever topic was on our minds. That subject came up again and again. You could see their real concern. I’d say, ‘Hey, what’s going on? How are you feeling? What are you thinking?’ Inevitably the subject of the increasing danger to the office came up. So I asked if it would be okay if I recorded their experiences and how they felt about everything, and that’s how I got those interviews.

There’s a, ironically, very funny moment where they’re actually all talking about the stress that they’re experiencing, and one of the staffers opens up a closet full of tissue boxes, Kleenex boxes, right? So that they say, “Well, we’re prepared if it gets too much, you know, to hand you a box of Kleenex.” And then he opens a cupboard, and there are literally, I don’t know, twenty or thirty boxes of Kleenex. It’s just a very poignant and funny moment.