What started out as an offbeat documentary about an eccentric financier’s pursuit of a world record turned into a touching tribute to his legacy and spirit.
Racing Mister Fahrenheit, the new documentary from Dallas filmmaker Michael Rowley (Hurdle), will have its world premiere this week as part of the diverse lineup at the Dallas International Film Festival.
The film was conceived to chronicle Dallas-based investor, aerial photographer, and motorcycle enthusiast Bobby Haas — namesake of the Haas Moto Museum & Sculpture Gallery — as he chased an adrenaline rush and a dream at Utah’s famed Bonneville Salt Flats aboard his hand-made sidecar motorcycle named Mister Fahrenheit.
Haas reached out to Rowley personally in the summer of 2021 about the idea. They didn’t know each other except through mutual admiration and geographic proximity.
“Bobby was an all-gas, no-brakes kind of a guy. He wanted me to document the journey. Immediately my ears perked up. Within a month, we were shooting,” Rowley said. “I got to know him very closely in a very short period of time.”
Filming began almost immediately, which was commissioned through the museum but independently produced through Rowley’s production company, giving him creative control. Then Haas died suddenly just two months later at age 74 from a brief respiratory illness. The film became an aimless afterthought.
“It was a complete shock to everyone involved,” Rowley said. “From the beginning, Bobby and I were talking about mortality. I was interested in why this 74-year-old was doing this youthful endeavor. He wanted this slice of immortality. That was at the top of my mind creatively. Everyone was in mourning.”
Haas’ partner, Stacey Mayfield, circled back with Rowley months later and encouraged him to finish the film to honor the legacy and capture the wishes of a man who lived every aspect of life in the fast lane.
“I thought going in this would be an epic adventure about a man in his twilight years accomplishing this world record. But when he passed, everything changed,” Rowley said. “It was about this healing journey that everybody around him was on. He got this pinch of immortality based on his effect on the world around him.”
Rowley, who will attend both DIFF screenings and participate in a Q&A afterward, said following its local debut, the film will play at other festivals around the world later this year in hopes of securing broader distribution.
The eight-day festival opens Thursday at multiple venues, although most screenings will take place at the Violet Crown Cinema in West Village. The docket features premieres of films that will hit theaters in the coming weeks and months, including Ezra, I Saw the TV Glow, Ghostlight, The Dead Don’t Hurt, Cuckoo, and Dandelion.
The festivities begin with a gala screening of a documentary about The Colony-based stunt group Dude Perfect on Thursday night. Several features with North Texas ties also highlight the slate, including:
- Bastards of Soul — Documentary tribute to the eponymous Dallas-based soul/R&B band forced to confront the sudden 2021 death of frontman Chadwick Murray. (7 p.m. Saturday, Texas Theatre)
- Dark Sanctuary: The Story of The Church — Documentary about the people behind the Dallas nightclub that is also one of the longest running goth hangouts in the country. (10 p.m. Sunday)
- Harsh Treatment — Drug-trafficking thriller from Denton filmmakers Johnathan Paul and Josh Gilbert, filmed in North Texas with a cast including Barry Corbin. (9:45 p.m. Friday and 9:30 p.m. Tuesday)
- Losing Grace, Finding Hope — Documentary about the 2016 suicide of Dallas teenager Grace Loncar aims to preserve her legacy and spread awareness about mental illness. (6 p.m. Tuesday and 4 p.m. May 2)
- Print It Black — Documentary about the fallout of the 2022 school shooting in Uvalde as seen through the eyes of journalists at the Uvalde newspaper. (1 p.m. Sunday and 4:30 p.m. Monday)
- Ride — Rodeo drama about cowboy culture set and shot in Stephenville, co-starring and directed by Park Cities native Jake Allyn (No Man’s Land). (7:30 p.m. Saturday)
- Sing Sing — True-life docudrama about a prison theater troupe starring Oscar nominee Colman Domingo (Rustin), written by Dallas filmmaker Clint Bentley (Jockey). (7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. May 2)
- Texas Music Revolution — Documentary about the history and personalities behind indie radio station KHYI-FM in Dallas and the acclaimed titular McKinney festival. (4 p.m. Saturday, Texas Theatre)
- Water Wars — Documentary produced by Fort Worth’s Philip Guitar about legal battles over land and water rights affecting a small West Texas town. (4:45 p.m. Friday and 12:45 p.m. Sunday)
- We Strangers — Emily Ruhl, who grew up in the Park Cities, is an executive producer for this haunting drama about a housekeeper confronting racial bias. (7:15 p.m. Friday and 9:45 p.m. Saturday)
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