Guarda Streamingcommunity. Leo Beuerman is a 1969 American short documentary film directed by Gene Boomer. It tells the story of Leo Beuerman (1902–1974), a diminutive, disabled man who sold pencils and became a fixture on the downtown sidewalks of Lawrence, Kansas in the 1950s and 1960s thanks to his determination. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.