The University of Texas at Austin

Paul Stekler is a nationally recognized documentary filmmaker whose critically praised and award-winning work includes “George Wallace: Settin' the Woods on Fire;” “Last Man Standing: Politics, Texas Style;” “Vote for Me: Politics in America,” a four-hour PBS special about grassroots electoral politics; two segments of the Eyes on the Prize II series on the history of civil rights; “Last Stand at Little Big Horn” (broadcast as part of PBS's series The American Experience); and “Louisiana Boys: Raised on Politics” (broadcast on PBS's P.O.V. series).

Overall, his films have won two George Foster Peabody Awards, three Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Journalism Awards, and three national Emmy Awards, and a special jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival. Dr. Stekler also has a doctorate in Government from Harvard University, where his work focused on Southern politics.

Stekler's current project is co-producing and writing a two hour PBS Frontline documentary about the Obama-McCain presidential race, "The Choice 2008" with director Michael Kirk and Jim Gilmore.

Dr. Stekler's latest film is "Last Man Standing", which aired nationally on PBS's P.O.V., for their 2004 season. This feature length documentary (edited by Sandra Guardado, who also co-produced) focuses on the politics of Texas, politics that propelled George W. Bush to the White House, by taking a lively, behind-the-scenes look at a pair of 2002 elections-one for state representative in a district that includes Lyndon Johnson's hometown, and the other a polarizing race for governor that pits President Bush's ascendant Lone Star state Republican Party versus an historic multi-cultural Democratic ticket.

Stekler's previous film was "George Wallace: Settin' the Woods on Fire" (co-produced by Daniel McCabe), a three hour documentary which won the Special Jury Prize at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival and an Emmy in 2001. The film originally aired as a two night special on the PBS series The American Experience on April 23-24, 2000.

Additional information about Stekler is available at http://rtf.utexas.edu/faculty/pstekler.html.

Education

Ph.D., Harvard University, 1982

Current Positions

Previous Positions

Host, Special Session, (Texas statewide political news show on PBS); Last Man Standing: Politics, Texas Style (film, 2004); George Wallace: Settin' the Woods on Fire (film, 2001); Vote for Me: Politics in America (film, 1997); Eyes on the Prize II: America at the Racial Crossroads 1965-1980 (film, 1990); Be Here To Love Me: A Film About Townes Van Zandt (film, 2004); Woody Guthrie: Ain’t Got No Home (film, 2006)

Public Broadcasting
State and National Campaign Politics