Pay attention and you just might learn something – that’s what documentary filmmaker Brett Morgen is hoping. For Morgen, success has come in the form of critical praise and an Oscar nomination. Unsurprisingly, his third documentary, Chicago 10, is equally as satisfying as his first two films.

Knowledge of the Chicago 10 has been overwhelmingly confined to those who were alive when the events occurred in 1968. Although documentaries tell real stories, Morgen was determined not to create a history lesson, insisting that those interested in studying should read a book. But he still managed to create an engaging film with rich historical background.

Animation set to Rage Against The Machine might not be the best way to draw baby boomers to the theatres, but Morgen didn’t make this film for them. Rather, he admits he is catering to high school and college students. Morgen employs the same form of motion capture animation utilized in “Beowulf” and “The Polar Express,” using courtroom transcripts and other sources to help realize scenes that have no existing film footage. He definitely wasn’t trying to create another 60’s time capsule with a Buffalo Springfield soundtrack.

After finishing The Kid Stays in the Picture in 2002, Morgen was trying to decide what his next project would be. Amidst the invasion of Afghanistan and the war in Iraq, Morgen found himself in a dialogue with producer Graydon Carter. Carter couldn’t understand why no one was protesting, recalling the 1968 events surrounding the Chicago Seven and Abbie Hoffman. Morgen instantly had a new project.

Making a film about the 60’s required Morgen to turn the paradigm on its head. In order to make a film about revolution, he needed to make it revolutionary. Knowing that actions are more interesting than words, he chose to dispose of the typical talking heads talking about their glory days, and instead focused on the Yippies, one of the groups that moved in on Chicago for the Democratic National Convention.

Intrigued with their energy, fun and sense of theater, Morgen began shaping the film from a Yippie perspective. Yippies embraced sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll, so Morgen did the same. He figured if he could get an audience that wanted to watch that, he might just teach them some politics and history along the way.

The film juxtaposes the protests in Chicago during the last five days of August in 1968 and the trial of several of the protest organizers that took place the following year. Being that the trial was somewhat of a circus, the use of animation in the trial scenes is appropriate in its wackiness.

The soundtrack acts as a bridge between scenes using stock footage and those using animation. Morgen edited sequences while listening to specific songs in order to establish a rhythm, though he wasn’t sure whether he would get the rights to use those songs until much later in the project’s development.

Morgen took a similar risk casting the voices. He had no idea who would agree to help with his low-budget film, but it didn’t keep him from cold-calling the actors he had in mind. Taking a gamble brought him success, helping him cast Hank Azaria, Nick Nolte, Mark Ruffalo, and Roy Scheider, who played one of his last roles as the voice of Judge Julius Hoffman.

Chicago 10 received overwhelming good reviews at the opening night of the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. The film’s distributor, Roadside Attractions, intended to release the film in August, but Morgen begged them to push the date back to February of 2008. Since Hot Rod, Superbad, and a number of comedies coming out around then, the time just did not seem right for a political documentary. The presidential primaries and the fortieth anniversary of the Chicago events made a later date more appropriate.

And he was right – there couldn’t be a better atmosphere for this film’s release than today’s tense political climate. Chicago 10 was released February 29th in select theatres and will open in more locations on March 14th.