The Sarah Palin soap opera continued – this time in an real opera house – for the premiere of The Undefeated, the hagiographical documentary of the life and times of an Alaskan governor turned political rock star.

Pella's Opera House was built in 1900 but it has surely never seen a day like Tuesday, when Palin's admirers and a media scrum descended on the rural Iowa town, with more than a few hoping that Palin would take the final step and announce that she was running for the 2012 Republican party presidential nomination. And that was just the journalists.

Those hopes had been stoked earlier in the day, with the news that Palin's daughter Bristol had appeared on Fox News and said that the former vice presidential candidate had made up her mind, saying: "She definitely knows."

But speaking to the media before the debut of The Undefeated, Palin herself brushed off her daughter's remark:

It's a tough decision, it's a big decision to decide whether to run for office or not. I'm still contemplating.

Others, though, pointed to the fact that the documentary's premiere was taking place in Iowa, the traditional starting line of the presidential contest. Palin supporters were out in force, crowding the 300-seat venue and the barbeque for 1,000 guests held afterwards.

Hours before the premiere, Palin was seen in a neighbouring town having lunch at a Panera branch with a well-known Iowa political fundraiser. And the visit also revealed a surprisingly large and enthusiastic volunteer force of Palinistas who are already unofficially preparing the ground in Iowa. One of them, a California lawyer named Peter Singleton, told the New York Times:

She has a lot more support in this state than people have any idea," said Mr Singleton, who said he did not work officially for Ms Palin. "The race is wide open right now.

The film premiere gave Palin's unofficial bevy of Iowa supporters an opportunity to rally – something Palin herself appeared to endorse in her comments to members of the crowd urging her to run.

Palin's shadow boxing with the Republican nomination remains perplexing, and her delays in declaring her position has given an opening to Michele Bachmann to seek the Tea Party support that may have otherwise gravitated towards Palin.

As for the film, the handpicked audience is said to have cheered scenes in the documentary showing Palin standing up to oil companies and members of Alaska's Republican old guard.

The documentary begins with Palin's election as mayor of Wasilla, and follows her fight against the Republican establishment for the Alaska governorship, and her sudden rise to national fame as John McCain's running mate in 2008.

The Undefeated has already been shown to reviewers around the country, with the harshest review coming from the New York Post's movie critic:

Its tone is an excruciating combination of bombast and whining, it's so outlandishly partisan that it makes Richard Nixon look like Abraham Lincoln and its febrile rush of images – not excluding earthquakes, car wrecks, volcanic eruption and attacking Rottweilers – reminded me of the brainwash movie Alex is forced to sit through in "A Clockwork Orange." Except no one came along to refresh my pupils with eyedrops.

Describing the documentary as a "vindication of my record," after seeing the film in Pella Palin told the Los Angeles Times:

It will blow you away. It was awesome. It's all about American values.

Sadly, the American public may have to wait to see The Undefeated: it is scheduled to open in just 10 cities next month.