The 2026 Milwaukee Film Festival opened on Thursday, April 16, with live music, special appearances and the crowd-pleasing tale of a local Milwaukee legend.
It’s no mystery why “Ueck” was chosen to kick off the fest. The Milwaukee Film Festival Opener was an ode to and a portrait of legendary Milwaukee radio play-by-play announcer Bob Uecker.
The film weaves archival footage and interviews in with a behind-the-scenes view of the final two years of his 54 seasons announcing for the Milwaukee Brewers. It takes viewers on an eccentric journey through his life, from the army and minor league baseball to his television career and his time with the Brewers. Uecker’s good humour and charisma carry us through his unexpected career changes, personal triumphs and tragedies.
This film has some sting on it, but though tears were shed, the crowd laughed more than they cried and MFF 2026 saw a joyous, communal opening. And the local community seems to be a big part of this year’s festival, as they highlight that 18% of films in the fest this year were made by filmmakers in the Milwaukee area.
“Honestly, as soon as we found out that “Ueck” was an option, we knew it was the right fit. They are two Milwaukee filmmakers. Bob Uecker is obviously beloved by the Milwaukee community. It’s the world premiere. All of the pieces just fell into place. It was 100% the right choice.”
-Susan Kerns, Executive Director of Milwaukee Film
Even the Milwaukee Brewers Famous Racing Sausages were in attendance, a highlight for those of us at the UWM Post.
To add to the celebration and in honour of Uecker’s classic commercial, free Miller Lites were provided for attendees aged 21+, bringing the crowd even closer to the ballpark.
For those who couldn’t catch “Ueck” at the festival’s opening night, there will be screenings in July at Marcus Theaters across Wisconsin. We highly recommend that you check out this heartwarming documentary.
Reviews of “Ueck”
Charlie Skrade – UWM Post Multimedia Editor
The Milwaukee Film Festival’s opening night truly felt like a celebration of not just the Brewers’ longtime radio announcer, but also of the city itself. With the aforementioned Racing Sausage hysterics prior to the film screening and free Miller Lite beer being handed out to attendees, alongside bellowing cheers for “Ueck”, it felt like Milwaukee came out in force.
While the event itself was incredible, the film was like the Milwaukee sports scene before Giannis or Yelich: Solid and engaging, but nothing crazy. It provides stories straight from Ueck, interviewed late in his life, reflecting on his life, and has great editing akin to other ESPN 30 for 30 documentaries.
For Milwaukeeans and Brewers fans, this film would be great to see on the big screen later this summer in Marcus Theaters. – Charlie Skrade, Multimedia Editor
Grade: C+
Mitch Utlaut – UWM Post Multimedia Editor
Mr. Baseball himself opened the Milwaukee Film Festival, and it was very fitting.
Growing up in St. Louis, I’ve heard stories of Ueck about his time on the Cardinals and becoming a “big-time movie star” after his time in the league.
It wasn’t until my family moved to Wisconsin that I fully learned who he was and how important he was to Milwaukee itself.
The film showcased that in a beautiful way, showing how the “hometown hero” was truly that.
You will have all the feels by the end and, if you don’t already, have a bigger heart for Mr. Baseball himself.
Grade: A
Ethan Ainley – UWM Post Editor-in-Chief
Attending the world premiere of this film made me feel truly initiated as a true Milwaukee-an. From getting pictures with the Brewers’ Racing Sausages, to the free can of Miller Light, and sitting in the row in front of Uecker’s family.
“Ueck” was an amazing movie-going experience, and it educated me about an important Milwaukee figure I did not know enough about previously.
Bob Uecker had such a fascinating and unique career. He was very clearly a kind and funny man who provided so much joy to Milwaukee and the world.
I walked away from this film feeling heartwarmed by the community Uecker built, who was present during this opening screening.
Grade: B
Interviews With “Ueck” Filmmakers
In Conversation with Steve Farr, “Ueck” Co-Director
UWM Post: Why did you decide to make a documentary about Bob Uecker?
Steve Farr: I had the contacts when we came up with the idea of doing the Bob Uecker documentary. Back in the fall of 2022, we had a development meeting where we said, what’s something we can do that’s fun and feels good. We wanted to shoot it locally and give back to the community. Do something that people will look at and go, yeah, Milwaukee’s great! And one of the guys, Matt Precop, our editor, he said that sounds like Bob Uecker. And we’re like, that would be great. We’re Brewer and Bob Uecker fans to start with. It was kind of easy for us to say yes. Bob committed to it in 2022, and we started filming in spring training of 2023. His cancer diagnosis was kind of early on, and so we had to kind of pivot there a little bit. He had agreed to do a lot of different things, and he’s going to be 90 years old, right? And he’s like, I’ll do this, I’ll do that. Well, his doctors kind of said, you can’t do all that, Bob. We shot with him the 2023 season and the 2024 season. He passed after that season. We had a lot of great moments with him, private moments in the booth and at home, and went fishing with him.
UWM Post: Did Bob enjoy being on camera? Did you feel like doing the documentary he was pumped about it?
Farr: Yeah, when he agreed to do it, you could tell; he doesn’t do anything halfway. I mean, he was kind of all in. If there’s anything we had a hard time, early on, he wanted to perform a little bit. So, we’d say, ‘That’s great, Bob, but honestly, forget the cameras here, because we just need you to be comfortable, don’t feel like you have to put on a performance for us.’ Eventually, he forgot we were there. That’s the nature of the documentary. You film enough that eventually they forget the cameras are there.
UWM Post: You started filming in 2023, and then he had his diagnosis very early on. How does it feel as a documentarian, but also as a person, filming someone going through something like that? How did it feel going through that process with him?
Farr: Well, we were prepared to do whatever Bob wanted to do. You know, we didn’t press him at all on this cancer diagnosis. He talked about it, but it would be off the cuff. We’d be on the boat, and he’d say, ‘I had a doctor’s appointment today. They did this, and this.’ And there’s an arc in the film now that’s kind of the cancer. But the film isn’t weighed down by the diagnosis. It’s still like Bob’s life, Bob’s life behind the microphone, his life as a minor leaguer, a major leaguer, transitioning to be a stand-up comedian from a baseball career, like who does this? And then moving on to being a broadcaster and an entertainer. He had all these lives and careers. You start adding him up and go like, well, he did like six or seven things; most people do like one. It was just a real privilege to be around him. And, for me to be up in the booth, the Brewers gave us really great access. They basically said you can go anywhere you want, and so we were able to be places, if I were a 12-year-old kid, I wouldn’t be able to believe where I was. The Brewers staff and their broadcast partners are all just such quality people. Whatever we wanted, whether it was interviews or whatnot, they were happy to participate.
UWM Post: How would you describe the way that he’s cherished in the Milwaukee and Brewers communities and his legacy going forward?
Farr: I grew up in this area, and I’m 60 years old, and Bob’s always been the voice of summer. That guy on the radio or on ‘The Tonight Show’ when I was a little kid, watching him on Johnny Carson, with my dad on the couch. I’d stay up late. He was just that guy. There’s a point in the film where Robin Yount says, ‘He’s that guy. He’s everybody’s best friend.’ When I think about that, I kind of get choked up, actually. Or just driving around town, you turn the radio on, and the Brewers game is on, and it’s always a comfortable voice. Whatever bad things are going on in your life, they kind of dissipate.
UWM Post: As a co-director. What’s it like sharing the responsibility of directing, and how does that work for you?
Farr: Michael and I are good friends. He’s got more of an editorial background, and I have more of a directing background. But we complement each other really well. He was always thinking about how we need this shot. Let’s make sure we get this; make sure we get that. And I’m kind of used to putting people at ease a little bit. I handled most of the interviews with the subjects. I like to shoot. He likes to shoot. Our director of photography is Jim Picciolo. He kind of managed that whole team. It was shot by three or four people. It was fun for me to get behind the camera again.
UWM Post: What were the biggest challenges or most rewarding parts of making this film?
Farr: Oh, honestly, there weren’t that many challenges because people were so gracious in giving up their time and everything. I can’t think of big challenges, but definitely the rewards were seeing it all come together. There are times you doubt yourself a little bit and go like, well, do we have a full 90-minute film? Do we have enough? At one point, we had a five-hour movie. Then you kind of boil everything down, and finally, we’re at 90 minutes right now. But just seeing it come together and knowing that it works and that I think people are really going to like it is probably the biggest reward.
UWM Post: Release the five-hour cut for big Brewers fans.
Farr: Maybe on Blu-ray. Is that still a thing? I don’t even know. Yeah, maybe on physical media.
In Conversation with Matt Prekop, “Ueck” Editor
UWM Post: How did you approach editing a documentary project like this with a mix of footage that you record and footage that you find?
Matt Prekop: The funniest part was that you’re almost editing two movies, because one of them is the biopic and all the archival, and then we were fortunate enough to capture Bob’s last two years in the booth. It became this dance of getting the verité footage to go with the archive and tell those stories side by side. It took us almost three years to make the whole movie, because it almost felt like editing two at one time. And then the backbone of the edit was everybody talking about Ueck’s appearances on Johnny Carson. I watched every appearance on Johnny Carson and kind of built a spine because he tells his life story on that. And then, blending it with the contemporary, with the Brewers being so good; it just was almost too captivating not to figure out how to make them dance. But that was for sure the most fun part, but also a long process with all of it.
UWM Post: As a UWM alum, what’s it like being involved with a film like this that’s about such a historic Milwaukee figure?
Prekop: I mean, that was probably what caught my attention on it to get started. Working with the two directors, both from Milwaukee, I’m originally from Milwaukee as well. It was one of those projects where it’s kind of a dream thing. We all love baseball. I grew up listening to him [Uecker] from here, too. You’re just kind of in this perfect world of somebody that you feel like you already know. And that’s how I think most Milwaukee feels about Bob. And that’s why it was so incredible. And then just getting to know all these layers that went into him. Going to UWM and then having a project like this is kind of one of those dream projects where the stars align. I couldn’t turn it down and couldn’t put it down for three years.
UWM Post: And like in the editing process, how did your perspective on him change?
Prekop: I learned so much about how private he was because you see this personality, and you hear it on the radio about who he is. And he always felt like he didn’t feel like he had to be on, but he was. He was so good at being on. There are moments in the raw footage that I get to see where you’re like, oh, he’s tired. I was fortunate that we got to have lunch with him, and he was very on for that lunch. That was the most revealing thing. When you see a man who sometimes just needs to take that deep breath, and the right people are around him who know he needs that, especially as he got to be age 90. Which is by far the most incredible thing about the footage is that you forget it’s a 90-year-old person doing this. The way he approached life was always amazing.
UWM Post: How do you feel about making this movie, and knowing the impact Uecker had, being able to share with the world such an intimate view of him?
Prekop: I live in California now, but at the time, I was like, we’re about to hit the target audience of Milwaukee people and Brewers fans. I think the director, Michael Vollman, his favorite phrase is always, if you can make people laugh and make people cry in one movie, you’ve got a great movie. And I do feel we accomplished that in a lot of ways. But as far as just being able to pack the house and sell it out, I’m excited to hear it with people laughing because I’ve watched this movie 1000 times working through the edit. Anyone who’s done any edit work knows you see the same stuff over and over. I’ve actually grown a little bit numb about it. Like that joke used to be so funny to me, but I’ve seen it 30 times now, and I don’t feel it. I’m most excited that this is going to be a packed house with people laughing, with people getting choked up. I think that his impact speaks to why this film sold out as quickly as it did, and I was so excited they’re doing a second screening, so as many people as possible can see it. And then of course, it’s going to be out in theaters this summer for more people to see.
UWM Post: And what do you hope Milwaukeeans take away from the film tonight?
Prekop: Different people will take away different things because I’m excited that you don’t have to be a baseball fan to love this movie. The biggest overarching theme is somebody who lives life to the fullest. I think that’s always kind of like almost cliche when people say that. But this is a man who lived; it almost feels like six or seven different lives, and it all gets intertwined in this movie. There’s beauty in kind of taking away that this is somebody who approached life and said yes to all the right things and found a way. Bob found that through baseball. It’s always his home. But he found all these other avenues to find laughter, joy, and he brought it to so many people. The biggest theme will be that cliché of live life to the fullest. But man, he did it so much that you’re kind of like, holy cow, it can be done.
UWM Post: What do you take away from this whole experience? Because, as you mentioned, you’ve seen it like 1000 times. How are you going to move forward after this?
Prekop: I’ve always been a baseball fan. And one of the things that where my film expertise and Bob’s radio expertise of baseball kind of collided, he always talked about the moments between him talking, where he called it the sounds of the game, where no one’s talking but you hear stuff. That exists in film as well, where you’re watching the movie, and you’re just taking in the visuals, and there are these little breaths between them. There’s a lot of sound effects work, and sometimes it’s just the groundskeepers raking the dirt, and then you hear it. There’s a lot of stuff that I took from how he explained it. And the biggest thing I want to take into any film I do going forward is like letting the hero of the story tell you what can be in the movie. Because when he talked about those sounds that exist in baseball, it’s like, oh, I’m going to make sure that comes to life and that the people hear that after he explains that it’s there. Every film should have something that your character wants you to take away. My favorite moments in the film are just arriving at the ballpark. There are transitional scenes where you’re just going to hear the sounds of the ballpark, vendors, people yelling out, and you’re like, oh, no one’s really talking right now, but I feel like I’m there.
UWM Post: How did your appreciation for baseball through all this, like editing work, how did it change or evolve?
Prekop: It went through the roof. I was already a big fan. We have a couple of decades spanning our whole team, and I’m one of the younger people. I’ve been fortunate; the Brewers have always been good since I started paying attention. Whereas, like for these guys, they’ve gone through the years where the Brewers didn’t make the playoffs. I started really watching them towards the end of my high school in 2007, and they made the playoffs in 08. So, I got to see the Brewers that we kind of know now, who have been around in the last seven years. They’ve been really, really good. My biggest thing is I’ve always loved baseball, but I have found that so many people watch it on TV now, and I still love the radio. And I think that’s a little old-fashioned of me. The funniest thing I heard was like, oh, baseball is always called the national pastime. And I was like, everyone’s trying to speed up sports, but everyone’s like, no, baseball was to pass time. It’s supposed to be slow. My biggest appreciation truly would be just enjoying the game at the pace it’s played, even though it’s getting sped up. So yeah, I still love baseball, love listening to it, all that, and now even more so.
In Conversation with Josh Mauer, Milwaukee Brewers Radio Announcer
UWM Post: Do you feel there has been any pressure in taking over radio for the Milwaukee Brewers?
Josh Mauer: Well, I think for myself personally, the biggest thing that I always try to keep in mind when I walk into that booth is that this is Bob’s booth. And all of us who work in the booth now and till the end of time are just shepherds of Bob’s booth. We need to keep that legacy going. If you had asked Bob, I feel comfortable saying this, what would he have wanted to be remembered most as his legacy of all the things that he accomplished? I think it would have been Brewers radio. I think that was the thing that he loved the most. There were times when he would film ‘Mr. Belvedere’ on a Friday night in Hollywood, live before a studio audience, and they wouldn’t get done sometimes till like 10 or 11 p.m. He would go to LAX, get on a red-eye, and fly back to Milwaukee and call a Brewers game the next afternoon. That’s how much he cared about it. He didn’t need to do that. By that point in the mid-80s, Bob was a real big deal. But he cared so much about the Brewers and particularly the radio broadcast that those were the kind of things that he did just to be a part of it all the time. Knowing how much that booth meant to him, I just think it’s always important for us to keep in front of our minds that we’re just trying to continue his tradition. The groundwork that he laid is the foundation that we stand on, and we just need to keep that going to the best of our ability every time we’re in the booth and every time we’re calling a baseball game.
UWM Post: How helpful is it that you have such good people surrounding you when it comes to Brewers’ coverage?
Mauer: It’s incredibly helpful. I feel like when I got hired by the Brewers, I walked into a who’s who of some of the best broadcasters in Major League Baseball these days, because there was Bob. And I work with Lane Grindle. When I work a game, it’s always with Lane. So, I get to appreciate how meticulous and well-versed he can be on the air. Anyway, I just feel like the fact that there’s as much talent in the play-by-play stable that we have with the Brewers helps me try to elevate my game, to borrow a sports analogy. It makes you just want to be that much better. That’s what I try to do. I’m trying to learn every day, learn from them, learn from myself, and continuously get better every time that I sign on the air.
UWM Post: What do you think about this movie being such a testament to Uecker’s existence and what he thought about Brewers Radio?
Mauer: Well, I think I’m excited that people are going to get to see this story be told, particularly this part of the story that the documentary focuses on, which is the end. People know the beginnings and the middle and the height of Bob in Hollywood, doing comedy, everything that he did that he became nationally known for. But the end was a little bit more secretive. And I think it was important at the end of the day for Bob to have this documented to complete the entire journey that he went through. People are going to learn a lot from this. I think they’re going to be impressed beyond belief at what Bob went through at the end of his career, even to be on the air when he was with us. I’m excited personally, too, that this film is finally being shown because I was in the booth for the couple of years that the entire crew was working on this. They became kind of an extended part of our Brewers family. If you’re in that booth, you kind of have to be. When Bob invites you into the booth, that’s an invitation to be part of the group. Those guys were around a lot working on this. I’m just so thrilled to see the fruits of that labor finally get shown, because I know it’s been a ton of work, blood, sweat, tears, literally, that they’ve put into this project.
UWM Post: What do you think would be some advice Uecker would give someone interested in sports announcing, or what advice would you give?
Mauer: I’m trying to think of something funny and witty that he [Uecker] would say. He would make a witty remark about how they probably shouldn’t do it. Or he would say something like, yeah, just do it. You’ll get a job, and it’ll be great. Bob had that really positive look on life that even when he was kind of making a joke out of something, it was always a joke in the positive. Everything was rosy. It’s one of the things that I think drew people to him. You couldn’t help but be in a good mood when you were around Bob. If he were trying to give you advice, he’d make you feel good about yourself. He’d probably make you believe that you could do it. I don’t know that Bob would give too many X’s and O’s to borrow a sports term. It’s not like he would say, all right, well, you go to this college, and then you call this guy, and then you work for this minor league team. No, he wouldn’t have said that, but he would have given you a good pep talk that would have made you feel like you could walk on a cloud, and that you can make it, because that’s the way that Bob made everybody feel.