Clio™ Award winning commercial director and independent filmmaker Steve Mims’ work has screened internationally in festivals, theatrically and on television. His 2016 New York Times “Critic’s Pick” STARVING THE BEAST documented the systematic defunding and radical reform of public universities across America. The Los Angeles Times: called it “…a jolt of chilling clarity.” Variety: “polished and provocative.” The Village Voice: “Alarming…a strong narrative with compelling cinematography.” 93% Fresh, Rotten Tomatoes(RT) His documentary INCENDIARY: THE WILLINGHAM CASE (2011) [co-directed by Joe Bailey, Jr.] won the 2011 SXSW Louis Black Award, the 2012 Innocence Network Journalism Award and the 2013 Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty Media Award. Ann Hornaday of the Washington Post called INCENDIARY: “Nonfiction filmmaking at its most classic. Crime, punishment, morality and hardball politics make for an explosive mix all their own.” (83% Fresh, RT) Variety’s Justin Chang wrote of his feature length narrative comedy ARLO & JULIE (2015): “...this comic mystery is a low-key, low-budget charmer.” (100% Fresh, RT) His 2016 viral political ad ELECT GERALD PLEASE was viewed 9 million times and won 11 local, national and international awards including a Lone Star EMMY® Award. His most recent film is the 2018 documentary RUN LIKE THE DEVIL, the inside story of the historic senate race between Ted Cruz and Beto O’Rourke.
Among his short fiction film work, The New York Times called Steve’s movie AUNT HALLIE, “A treasure...which belongs on everybody’s list of the top-10 funniest nine minute films ever made.” His short WEBB WILDER, PRIVATE EYE: THE SAUCER’S REIGN became a late television cult classic on USA Network’s anthology series NIGHTFLIGHT and helped spawn the roots-rock band WEBB WILDER AND THE BEATNECKS. His work has screened at the Museum of Modern Art in New York (Film Society of Lincoln Center, New Directors/New Films) Bilbao, Spain, Hamburg, Germany, St. Petersburg and Moscow. His film awards include the American-Soviet Film Initiative Pick (Ann Arbor Film Festival) the Gold Apple Award (National Educational Film Festival) and the Silver Hugo Award (Chicago International Film Festival). A compilation of three of his shorts (WEBB WILDER’S CORN FLICKS) was release nationally by BMG/Zoo Entertainment. His latest fiction shorts include THE ONE-OFFS, REFLEX, HONORARIUM, and WEBB WILDER’S SCATTERGUN.
His short documentary work includes THE ONE ARM DOVE HUNT, LIVE FOREVER: THE LIFE AND SONGS OF BILLY JOE SHAVER, and SOUZAY: A LIFE IN ART. Recent projects include a short biographical documentary GOD/MAN/ACCORDION and SOUTHFORK PILGRIMS, a short documentary about fans of the television series DALLAS for the Bob Bullock Texas History Museum. In 2009, Steve won the Barbara Jordan Media Award (director/editor/co-producer) for his short documentary about dyslexia called CHANGING CHILDREN’S LIVES.
His feature-length music documentaries include RUTHIE FOSTER: LIVE AT ANTONE’S, (Blues Foundation Award for Best DVD of 2012) LIZARDS TIMES TWENTY: AUSTIN LOUNGE LIZARDS LIVE AT ANTONE’S and THE AUSTIN LOUNGE LIZARDS: THIRTY YEARS OF LOST LUGGAGE, all released through Blue Corn Music/ADA/Warner Music Group.
His music videos include work for The Naughty Ones, Pat McLaughlin, Cotton Mather, Webb Wilder, Stephen Bruton, Los Straitjackets, the Austin Lounge Lizards and Billy Joe Shaver. His videos have aired on More Music, TNN, CMT, CMT Europe, M2 and MTV. His video of Billy Joe Shaver’s HOTTEST THING IN TOWN was voted Best Music Video of 1994 by the Austin Chronicle. Television broadcasts include PBS, Italian Public Television, Campus Network, USA Network, Arts & Entertainment Network and The Learning Channel.
Steve earned a bachelor’s degree at the University of Southern Mississippi and a Master of Arts at the University of Texas at Austin. He is a film lecturer at the University of Texas at Austin and a 2017 inductee into the University of Southern Mississippi’s School of Mass Communications Hall of Fame.
