Paul Stekler

Paul J. Stekler (born January 3, 1953) is a political documentary filmmaker, a professor, and former head of the production program in the Department of Radio-Television-Film at the University of Texas at Austin College of Communication. Although known for his political films, he is perhaps recognized best by the public as the on-camera advisor to the cast of The Real World Austin during their attempt to create a documentary about the South by Southwest Music Festival (2005-2006). Among other major filmmaking awards, he has earned two Peabody, three Columbia/duPont, and three national Emmy awards.

He obtained his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1982. His first film to win national acclaim (a Peabody Award) was his 1997 PBS Democracy Project film "Vote for Me: Politics in America" (produced, directed and written with Louis Alvarez and Andy Kolker), a behind-the-scenes exploration of running for public office done by chronicling American politics, including veteran Chicago political operatives, consultants creating negative ads in Alabama, and legislators` arm-twisting on the floor of the Texas Statehouse. The film also follows Maggie Lauterer a folksinger turned TV reporter who runs for congress. The film ('The Political Education of Maggie Lauterer') follows Lauterer as she learns the ropes of running a campaign. The Peabody committee called the film "a glimpse of our system that ultimately turns the surprising trick of making viewers more appreciative of and less cynical about the political process."

In 2000, Stekler and Daniel McCabe received the Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival for the three-hour documentary "George Wallace: Settin' the Woods on Fire" which the New York Times called "a full-blown Shakespearean saga."

Paul Stekler was nominated by the Writers Guild of America (WGA) in 2004 for outstanding achievement in television writing for his documentary film "Last Man Standing: Politics Texas Style" which aired nationally on the PBS series "P.O.V." The film takes a behind-the-scenes look at Texas politics during the 2002 elections, which pitted President Bush's Lone Star state Republican Party against a historic multi-cultural Democratic ticket. The film received widespread acclaim from the Dallas Morning News, indieWIRE, New York Magazine, Variety, and the Washington Post.

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