World Premiere: Football’s Valhalla, The Bob Ufer Story

Showings

Michigan Theater - Auditorium Fri, Oct 5, 2018 7:00 PM
Event Info
Category:Films
Michigan Films

Description

Plays Friday, October 5, 2018 at 7:00 PM.

For many Michigan Football fans, nothing can describe the force of nature that was Bob Ufer. Considered the original “Voice” of Michigan Football, Bob Ufer is a University of Michigan icon. Far from being an impartial reporter, Ufer released endless kilocycles of unbridled maize and blue favoritism. For nearly four decades, Bob Ufer was beloved by a wide range of listeners for his enthusiastic, articulate and engaging style. His high-octane broadcasts had an impact on many local kids, including one who became the head football coach at Michigan, Jim Harbaugh. Recordings of Ufer’s game broadcasts have delighted Michigan fans for decades and are routinely heard at tailgate gatherings today.



Now, 37 years after his passing, Football’s Valhalla, The Bob Ufer Story, gives Bob Ufer’s life story the detailed telling it has long deserved.



Produced and directed by Ann Arbor native, Dan Chace (Michigan BA, Yale Drama MFA), Football’s Valhalla began filming at the 2015 Ohio State Game.  Over 75 interviews have since been recorded, including coaches (Jim and Jack Harbaugh, Lloyd Carr, Jerry Hanlon), players (Dennis Franklin, Rick Leach, Bill Dufek, John Wangler), broadcasters (Frank Beckman, Jim Brandstatter, Dan Dierdorf), as well as dozens of family members, friends and fans of Bob Ufer. Interview testimony is matched with rare vintage photographs, and archival video and film, including never-before-seen footage of Bob Ufer competing in Madison Square Garden as an undergraduate. A variety of Ufer’s radio calls are also included.



Football’s Valhalla, The Bob Ufer Story has been funded by charitable donations from local businesses and Michigan alums and fans across the country, through the not-for-profit fiscal sponsorship of Ann Arbor’s Artrain and Media Process Educational Films of Chicago. Football’s Valhalla has received the endorsement and support of Michigan Athletics and the family of Bob Ufer.  A national tour of Football’s Valhalla will begin October 19th in Los Angeles, screening the film in  selected cities throughout the country.  For more information about the film please visit www.BobUferStory.com.



Producer: Black Point West Films



Director: Dan Chace



Biographical Sports Documentary/115 minutes



Corporate Sponsor: The M Den



This is not a Michigan Theater Foundation sponsored film.