The Bear (company)


The Bear is an American production company and creative studio based in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 2007 by directors Ben Steinbauer and Berndt Mader. The company has produced feature films and narrative and documentary short films.

History

After meeting at the Radio, Television & Film at The University of Texas at Austin in 2004 and working on several projects together, Ben Steinbauer and Berndt Mader formed The Bear in 2007.
The Bear's documentary Winnebago Man is about an RV salesman named Jack Rebney who became a viral video sensation. Michael Moore called it “One of the funniest documentaries ever made”, and Roger Ebert named it one of his favorite films of 2010. The film was directed by Steinbauer and was named by the Austin Film Critics Association the Best Austin Film for 2010.
In 2011, Steinbauer and Mader were selected to direct a segment of the feature film, Slacker 2011, a remake of Richard Linklater's Slacker by 24 Austin-based filmmakers. The firm produced 5 Time Champion , starring Betty Buckley, Jon Gries, and Dana Wheeler-Nicholson. The film was written and directed by Mader and won the Target Filmmaker Award at the 2011 Dallas International Film Festival.
The firm co-produced the feature film Prince Avalanche directed by David Gordon Green, starring Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch. Also produced in 2013 was Double Play directed by Gabe Klinger, about the relationship between Richard Linklater and experimental filmmaker, James Benning.
In 2015, the firm produced Booger Red directed by Mader, starring Ornur Turkel and Marija Karan. The film won the Special Jury Prize at the 2016 Dallas International Film Festival.
The firm has produced short films including Brute Force ; Bad Guy #2 ; Calls To Okies: The Park Grubbs Story ; The Superlative Light ; Death Metal ; Slow To Show, directed by Steinbauer, which was acquired by The New York Times Op-Docs; and Heroes From the Storm.
In 2017, The Bear joined the roster at Chelsea Pictures for commercial representation. In 2018, The Bear began working with AG Reps for representation in the Texas market.

Filmography

Film