Ben Steinbauer is an American film, television, and commercial director, who is best known for the documentary feature, Winnebago Man. Steinbauer has directed documentaries including Brute Force and Heroes From The Storm , as well as episodic television for the PBS show Stories of the Mind, and the CBS show Pink Collar Crimes.
Life and career
Steinbauer graduated from Edmond Memorial High School in Edmond, Oklahoma, in 1995 and earned a B.A. in Theatre and Film from The University of Kansas in 2001, where he sits on the Professional Advisory Board of K.U. Film. While in college, he began making documentaries and music videos for Forty Minutes of Hell, Everest, and The Danny Pound Band In 2002, Steinbauer directed behind-the-scenes videos for The Flaming LipsFight Test, "Sponge Bob and Patrick Confront the Psychic Wall of Energy," and The Flaming Lips & Cat Power, performing on Austin City Limits. He went on tour and operated camera on Bradley Beesley's documentary, The Fearless Freaks, about the Flaming Lips. In 2004, he was accepted to the graduate film program at The University of Texas at Austin. His pre-thesis film, The Next Tim Day, a documentary about a young crack dealer turned independent filmmaker, won best documentary at Cinema Texas and ran on PBS "The Territory." In 2005, he won a Princess Grace Award for Filmmaking for his graduate thesis film, which went on to become Winnebago Man. After graduating, Steinbauer taught Intro To Filmmaking at UT from 2007-2009 and won a teaching award for Teacher of the Year for the College of Communications. at the film premiere for Winnebago Man in July 2010 Steinbauer's comedy documentary Winnebago Man premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival in 2009. Winnebago Man was released theatrically by Kino Lorber in the U.S. and by Kinosmith in Canada, in July 2010. Michael Moore called it "One of the funniest documentaries ever made” and Roger Ebert named it one of his favorite films of 2010. Steinbauer directed the short documentary Brute Force, which was shot by famed cinematographer Jody Lee Lipes and premiered at SXSW in 2012. He wrote and directed the short film Documentary Subjects Wanted for Funny or Die, starring Rory Scovel and Matt Jones. In 2014, he co-directed Calls To Okies: The Park Grubbs Story with Bradley Beesley. The short premiered at the SXSW film festival in 2015 and was awarded a Vimeo Staff Pick. He wrote and directed the short documentary, The Superlative Light , which was shot in both traditional 2D as well as in virtual reality. Both versions of the film premiered at the SXSW film festival in 2016. The film was featured in Vice's Creator's Project: Short of the Week, and premiered online at Nowness. In 2016, Steinbauer directed five episodes of Stories of the Mind for PBS - A Place To Belong, Coping With Illness, Beating Anxiety, Facing Suicide, and The Critical Years. The series, produced by Arcos Films, won multiple Emmys in the Lonestar Category. His 2016 documentary, Slow To Show, was acquired by The New York Times Op-Docs and awarded a Vimeo Staff Pick. After Hurricane Harvey, Steinbauer teamed up with Texas Monthly to make Heroes From the Storm , which was awarded a Vimeo Staff Pick and selected for the U.S. State Department's 2018-2019 American Film Showcase where it screened at the U.S. Embassy in Pakistan. In 2018, Steinbauer directed eight episodes of the CBS comedic docu-series, Pink Collar Crimes, hosted by Marcia Clark. Episodes included Minivan Mom Bank Robber, The Queen of Coupons, and Jackpot Jackie. Steinbauer's documentary Siren Song, which he co-directed with Berndt Mader, premiered at the 2019 Austin Film Festival.
Steinbauer co-owns the production company The Bear which was founded in 2007, with writer/director, Berndt Mader. The Bear is a production company based in Austin, Texas. Its feature film credits include Booger Red directed by Mader, Prince Avalanche directed by David Gordon Green, Double Play directed by Gabe Klinger, 5 Time Champion directed by Mader, Slacker 2011 directed by Steinbauer, Mader, and various other Austin-based directors, and Winnebago Man directed by Steinbauer.
