Catch 'Winnebago Man' in Austin This Month

Were you lucky enough to catch the documentary Winnebago Man at SXSW this year? All the screenings sold out really quickly, and I never got to see it myself. After its world premiere at SXSW (complete with a real Winnebago, shown at right), the film hit the film-fest circuit, winning a half-dozen awards at festivals such as Cinevegas, Hot Docs in Toronto and the Traverse City Film Festival. Now it's returning to Austin for a sneak-preview fundraiser so the movie can be prepared for a wider, non-fest release.

You can see Winnebago Man on Tuesday, October 27 at the Monarch Events Center. This is a venue in the Lincoln Village strip mall, often used for conferences ... which used to be part of a four-screen theater complex, back in the day. A pre-screening reception starts at 7 pm, and the movie starts at 8, with a Q&A to follow. Admission is a minimum donation of $10. Tickets are available online and if not sold out, at the door.

The documentary is about Jack Rebney, whose 1989 outtakes from his Winnebago sales video earned him notoriety first in the underground video world, and then of course on the Internet. Part of the film's storyline is the director of Winnebago Man, Ben Steinbauer, trying to track Rebney down now and find out more about him.

Winnebago Man has several Austin connections besides its SXSW premiere: Joel Heller, whom some of you might remember from his currently inactive Docs That Inspire blog, is one of the film's producers. The cinematographers were former Austinite Bradley Beesley (Fearless Freaks, Sweethearts of the Prison Rodeo) and local filmmaker Berndt Mader (Road to Tlacotepec).

Screen Door Films, in association with Monarch and Austin Film Society, is presenting the screening.