Ben Steinbauer is a documentary director, producer and showrunner known for finding humor and humanity in unexpected places. His feature documentary Winnebago Man was called “one of the funniest documentaries ever made” by Michael Moore and named one of Roger Ebert’s favorite films of 2010. His most recent feature, Chop & Steele, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and was released theatrically by Drafthouse Films. Steinbauer showran and directed the Hulu Original doc-comedy series High Hopes, executive produced by Jimmy Kimmel, and directed all eight episodes of the CBS documentary series Pink Collar Crimes. His other work includes the Emmy-winning PBS series Stories of the Mind, the New York Times Op-Doc Slow to Show, and Heroes From the Storm, produced for Texas Monthly and selected as a Vimeo Staff Pick. Steinbauer is a recipient of the Princess Grace Award for Filmmaking and co-founder of the Austin-based, Emmy Award-winning production company The Bear. He also co-hosts Doc Walks, a podcast about documentary filmmaking, with filmmaker Keith Maitland.
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Biography from TMDB.
- July 28, 1977 (49)
- Wichita, Kansas, USA
- Director, producer, editor and writer, also actor
- 5 on MovieCove · 23 credits in all
What are Ben Steinbauer's films like?
Across their 5 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Society.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 3
Light 3 · Serious 0 · Dark 0
Grounded 3 · Stylized 0 · Heightened 0
Gentle 3 · Charged 0 · Intense 0
Steady 3 · Shifting 0 · Whiplash 0
A split, not a type: Straight-faced 1 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 2
Slow burn 3 · Even-paced 0 · Relentless 0
Casual 3 · Engaged 0 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 3 · Affecting 0 · Heavy 0
Resolved 3 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Happy2
- Bittersweet2
- Ambiguous1
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Ben Steinbauer's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 4 of their 5 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (2).
- Curiosity Stream
Subscription and free streaming for Ben Steinbauer's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
23 credits, 5 with a MovieCove page.
High Hopes(2024)
Midcredits score: 25th percentile of all shows
Chop & Steele(2022)
Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all filmsSiren Song (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)
Pink Collar Crimes(2018)
Midcredits score: 34th percentile of all showsHeroes from the Storm (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)
The Superlative Light (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)
Slow to Show (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)
Stories of the Mind (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)
Booger Red (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)
Bad Guy #2 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)
Calls to Okies: The Park Grubbs Story (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)
Documentary Subject Wanted with Rory Scovel (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)
Make Your Mark (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)
Brute Force (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)
Five Time Champion (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)
Slacker 2011 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)
Sweethearts of the Prison Rodeo (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)
Winnebago Man(2009)
Midcredits score: 84th percentile of all films
The Flaming Lips: U.F.O's At The Zoo (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)
Summercamp!(2006)
Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films
The Fearless Freaks (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)
Smile and the World Smiles with You (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
The Next Tim Day (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 23 titles, 21 of them dated from 2005 to 2024.
How do Ben Steinbauer's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 84th percentile, the median of all 3; across a limited sample of 3 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 80th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up2
- 50th to 74th1
- 25th to 49th2
Shape of the crowd
3 of their 5 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Cult Classic2
- Crowd Pleaser3
Reviewers score the atmosphere 65/100 in their films, across 3 reviewed titles; fans 72, detractors 40. The element that speaks to their work as a director.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Who does Ben Steinbauer work with?
People who share at least 2 of Ben Steinbauer's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Joe Pickett shares the most, 2.
Actors
- Joe PickettShared titles: Chop & Steele (2022), Winnebago Man (2009)See all 2 shared titles with Joe Pickett
- Nick PrueherShared titles: Chop & Steele (2022), Winnebago Man (2009)See all 2 shared titles with Nick Prueher
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Alex MacKenzieShared titles: High Hopes (2024), Chop & Steele (2022)See all 2 shared titles with Alex MacKenzie
- Curtis HeathShared titles: High Hopes (2024), Chop & Steele (2022)See all 2 shared titles with Curtis Heath
- Bradley BeesleyShared titles: Winnebago Man (2009), Summercamp! (2006)See all 2 shared titles with Bradley Beesley
Mixed roles
- Berndt MaderShared titles: Chop & Steele (2022), Winnebago Man (2009)See all 2 shared titles with Berndt Mader
