Camera follows staffers’ lives on and off ‘The Hill’

When documentary filmmaker Ivy Meeropol wanted to capture the lives of young Capitol Hill staffers, she dreamed of a full-length film shot in the office of Rep. Robert Wexler (D-Fla.), where she had worked under Wexler’s predecessor, Harry Johnston.

But the major networks turned it down, and when Sundance Channel offered her a series instead of a film, she balked. “I’d never made a television show, and I wanted this to be a real documentary,” Meeropol said.

But after viewing Sundance’s documentary crime series “The Staircase” and negotiating with the network for nearly a month, the director agreed to shoot the series. Most of the filming took place during the 2004 election season through the end of 2005.

In six, half-hour episodes that premiere at 9 p.m. Wednesday, “The Hill” captures the day-to-day lives of four congressional aides working in Wexler’s office. The less glamorous Capitol Hill content is offset by a soundtrack heavy with punk-rock stylings -- courtesy of Brendan Canty, drummer for the legendary local group Fugazi -- with quick-cutting camera work and glimpses into staffers’ lives outside the office.

“The balancer for me in this show is that there are scenes where we’re allowed to breathe a little bit, where you see these people’s lives,” Meeropol said. “That, to me, is real filmmaking.”

Wexler’s chief of staff, Eric Johnson, a 10-year veteran of the office, delivers witty rebuttals and shares frank discourse with Wexler. In the out-of-office segments, viewers meet Johnson’s partner, James, and watch as they deal with their jobs and consider becoming legally married, all while raising their son, Kai.

Press secretary Lale Mamaux scribbles talking points on notecards for Wexler and doesn’t hesitate to call Johnson a “smarty pants” when the two quibble.

“There are times I look back and think, ‘Did I actually say that? Did I act like that?’ ” Mamaux said, laughing. “That first week, we tried to look a little nicer for the cameras, but after that we just said, ‘Screw it’ -- we had to do our jobs, and we just forgot the cameras were there.”

Legislative assistant Halie Soifer struggles to balance work, romance and her political ideals. Legislative director Jonathan Katz emerges in the third episode, when the staff is deeply divided over the war in Iraq.

Meeropol and the staffers hope viewers, regardless of interest or affiliation, will develop an appreciation for these ordinary people with extraordinary ambition and dedication.

“I wanted to capture the excitement of being a young person who’s very passionate and believes so fervently in what they’re doing,” Meeropol said. “I wanted to show people in that position actually doing something with that passion, where their work actually makes a difference.”