View site in English, Español, or Français

The fair-trade ticketing company.

Find An Event

Create Your Event

Help

A Friend Indeed - The Bill Sackter Story

Riverview Theater
Minneapolis, MN

Share this event:

Event

A Friend Indeed - The Bill Sackter Story

Monday June 8, 2009 at 7:30pm

Admission is $8

As a 7-year-old boy, Bill Sackter's life was in turmoil. After his father died in 1920, the
State of Minnesota determined that his mental retardation would make him a burden on
society, so he was locked up in an institution, never to see his family again.
It took 44 years for Bill to finally be released from Faribault Institution. And while he
had freedom, he was languishing on the streets of Minneapolis.
A chance meeting with a young college student, Barry Morrow, led to an incredible
friendship and a new journey for Bill. Barry introduced Bill to a whole new side life and
many new friends, and took the extraordinary step of becoming his legal guardian.
This unlikely pairing allowed Bills vibrant personality and zest for life to blossom.
Never looking at the past with regret, Bill embraced life in the present and brought a
smile to peoples faces, especially when he played the harmonica for everyone he met as
proprietor of Wild Bills Coffee Shop in Iowa City.
Barrys dream of making a real-life documentary about Bill wasnt realized at the time,
but the basis of his life story was turned into a highly successful made-for-television
drama Bill (1981), starring Mickey Rooney as Bill and Dennis Quaid as Barry.
Now, over three decades since Barry began filming, the real Bill Sackter comes to life in
this new feature length documentary by Lane Wyrick.

Voted the #1 Audience Favorite in five festivals already: the Kansas International Film
Festival, the Hardacre Film Festival, the Omaha Film Festival, the Cedar Rapids
Independent Film Festival, and the New Strand Film Festival, A Friend Indeed The
Bill Sackter Story is a very funny and inspiring real-life documentary about hope,
compassion and the power of friendship. Just be sure to bring a box of Kleenex!

This Special Event will include many people from the documentary including Academy Award Winning Screenwriter Barry Morrow, Documentary Filmmaker Lane Wyrick, Jack Doepke, Tom Walz and more.