{"id":12941,"date":"2025-09-17T17:02:36","date_gmt":"2025-09-17T17:02:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/artsmidwest.org\/?p=12941"},"modified":"2025-09-17T17:44:06","modified_gmt":"2025-09-17T17:44:06","slug":"pieowa-beth-howard-documentary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artsmidwest.org\/stories\/pieowa-beth-howard-documentary\/","title":{"rendered":"One Iowan’s Quest to Put Pie on the Big Screen"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Beth Howard isn\u2019t afraid of starting from scratch.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat is how I like to learn,\u201d says Howard, who premiered PIEOWA<\/em>, her first documentary film production, at age 63. \u201cJust dive in and figure it out.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Producing and promoting a documentary about pie is the latest in a latticework of professional experiences that Howard says prepared her to showcase baked goods on the big screen. <\/p>\n\n\n

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\n \n\n\n\n<\/g>\n\n\n\n<\/clipPath>\n<\/defs>\n<\/svg> Photo Credit: Courtesy of Beth Howard<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
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\n Beth Howard (right) at an event at the Varsity in Des Moines, Iowa. In the early \u201890s, Howard was part of a team that launched the original Beverly Hills, 90210 TV show. She competed in Mark Burnett’s inaugural 10-day, 300-mile Eco-Challenge endurance race as a member of Team Media. Howard also worked for startup companies, in PR roles, and traveled globally as a freelance adventure writer.\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n \n \n <\/figure>\n\n
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Howard\u2019s desire to document the power of pie pre-dates her four books and a TEDx talk on the topic. Pie is a through-line in her personal narrative. The Ottumwa native once quit a stressful corporate job to become a pie baker in Malibu, touting her Iowa roots as her main credential.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2009, the sudden death of her young husband, Marcus, sent her to Iowa in search of solace. <\/span><\/p>\n

Howard began selling pastry out of the iconic <\/span>American Gothic House<\/span><\/a> in rural Eldon before sharing that story in \u201c<\/span>Making Piece: A memoir of love, loss and pie<\/span><\/a>,\u201d\u00a0released in 2012.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While writing through her grief, pie became both medium and muse.<\/span><\/p>\n

Four years of sharing slices proved Howard\u2019s thesis: a hand-crimped crust is a shortcut to building community.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think we’re lonely, and pie is this thing that brings people together,\u201d Howard says. \u201cUsually, if it’s a whole pie, you sit around and share it. You don’t just get one piece for yourself.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\n \n\n\n\n<\/g>\n\n\n\n<\/clipPath>\n<\/defs>\n<\/svg> Photo Credit: Courtesy of Beth Howard<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
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\n PIEOWA’s premiere at Varsity Cinema in Des Moines, Iowa.\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n \n \n <\/figure>\n\n <\/div>\n\n\n\n

During her first year as a widow, she and a TV producer friend set out in Marcus\u2019s RV to make a pilot for a TV show about pie. Although she scrapped that original project, their quest returned Howard from the West Coast to her home state. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than a decade later, she still couldn\u2019t shake the idea. In 2023, Howard formed \u201cCamp Dough Productions\u201d and decided to bootstrap an on-screen exploration of pie. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Originally, she envisioned a coast-to-coast project that would satisfy her wanderlust. Working with a tiny budget, Howard would have to focus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seeing a postcard with RAYGUN\u2019s \u201cFaces of Iowa\u201d design<\/a>, which includes an outline of the state depicted as fresh apple pie, sparked a realization. \u201cWhen I saw the word PIEOWA, I went, \u2018That’s it!\u2019\u201d she says. \u201cI’m going to do the State Fair, and RAGBRAI<\/a>, and so many other stories.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Making a documentary challenged Howard to transform something raw into a finished product. This time, instead of flour and sugar, she was mixing footage. <\/p>\n\n\n

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\n \n\n\n\n<\/g>\n\n\n\n<\/clipPath>\n<\/defs>\n<\/svg> Photo Credit: Courtesy of Beth Howard<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n Howard’s statewide exploration of pie includes (of course!) its many appearances at the annual Iowa State Fair.\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n
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\n \n\n\n\n<\/g>\n\n\n\n<\/clipPath>\n<\/defs>\n<\/svg> Photo Credit: Courtesy of Beth Howard<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n Rachelle Long of Chellie’s Sugar Shack in Valley Junction, Iowa, is featured in the documentary.\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n
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\n \n\n\n\n<\/g>\n\n\n\n<\/clipPath>\n<\/defs>\n<\/svg> Photo Credit: Courtesy of Beth Howard<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n The Greenlight Grant from the Iowa Department of Economic Development helped keep Howard’s project afloat as she bootstrapped her first foray into film production.\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n
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\n \n\n\n\n<\/g>\n\n\n\n<\/clipPath>\n<\/defs>\n<\/svg> Photo Credit: Courtesy of Beth Howard<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n When the first showing sold out at Varsity Cinema, they announced additional screenings.\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n\n
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