AUSTIN, Texas — The brewing political battle between Republican incumbent Ted Cruz and Democratic challenger Beto O'Rourke brings conflict that filmmaker Steve Mims sees as great political theater.

"There is a built-in drama about this race that's going to play out in a very interesting way this year," said Mims.

Mims started cameras rolling months ago on his next film, "Beto vs. Cruz: The Fight for 2018."

The contrast between two polar opposite candidates is the movie's main event.

"The two protagonists are so different. They're different in the way they look and the way they talk. They're different in their in their backgrounds and their supporters are different in their ideology," said Mims.

History makes O'Rorke a big underdog, polls show he's not well known to many Texans and it's been three decades since a democrat represented Texas in the Senate. His growing support adds to the political side show.

"I think it's dramatic for instance with the Beto campaign there's a lot of energy there both in the campaign and this is new. It's a new thing for people to barnstorm Texas the way he's been doing it," said Mims.

With no idea how the race will turn out, Mims said he isn't playing favorites but just trying to make a nonpartisan film about a key moment in political history.

"We have to let the characters speak for themselves and the people speak for themselves and the facts speak for themselves. I think given the dynamics for this race, you don't have to do more than that," said Mims.

Mims plans to release two versions of his film, one next fall before the election and another version looking back after a winner is elected.

He's not taking money from the candidate's parties but there is Kickstarter campaign for the film in its final days.