A Documentary Film in the Baking

UPDATE JULY 10, 2024 

It’s already been a year since we started filming. The fiercely determined part of me thought this film would be airing by now, but a film is like a pie; you have to give it time to bake. 

Last summer’s shoot was a fun (and hot) adventure that spanned to Thanksgiving and then into the spring. I spent the winter learning how to edit a film using Adobe Premiere Pro software. It was a hair-puller, but I’m living proof that you are never too old to learn a new skill. We are still collecting footage, going back to get shots we wished we had gotten the first time around, because we want this to be the best, most beautiful, most delicious film it can be. Even better, it will feature several original pie songs, all by Iowa musicians.

Last July, we covered RAGBRAI, the Des Moines Register’s annual bike ride across Iowa, a pie-lover’s mecca, and met so many great people from all over the world. Kudos to those who rode the entire 500 miles! We interviewed Team Pie Hunter, Team Cherry Pie, Team Pie, and Team No Pie Refused — aka National Public Radio — and interviewed NPR reporters Scott Horsley and Tamara Keith. That’s right — when they are not covering news at the White House or reporting on global economics, they’re on bikes and eating pie. In August, we ate our way through the Iowa State Fair while filming the pie competitions, as well as the cow pie throwing and pie eating contests. (I will never eat a deep fried brisket mac & cheese sandwich again.)

We filmed some of my favorite stories for PIEOWA over Thanksgiving. We filmed at North High School in Des Moines where students in the community service class made 100 pies to donate to a free Thanksgiving meal. And we followed Eat Free Pie as they collected nearly 300 pies donated by locals and then delivered them to homes around Des Moines. Talk about restoring your faith in humanity! (Which is the real reason I’m making this film.)

This past April, we filmed at the diner of my childhood where I had my very first pie — The Canteen Lunch in the Alley in Ottumwa, Iowa. (The shoot took place the day my BFF Patti died, but I could hear her telling me to Just. Keep. Going. Besides, as I’ve long insisted, pie heals.) Comedian Tom Arnold is from Ottumwa and a regular at the diner when he comes to town. I got to interview him at his home in LA about The Canteen (he had to say yes because our grandmothers were best friends, plus I bribed him with pie) and he raved about the loose meat sandwiches and lauded the fact that the place is still there, unchanged, since 1936.

To date, I’ve put over 5,000 miles on Doug’s car (thanks, Doug!), driving all over the state to interview pie shop owners, church ladies, fruit growers, farmers market vendors, and pie bakers of all ages and abilities. The range is inspiring — we filmed a 5-year-old baker competing at the State Fair and a 95-year-old friend making a sour cream raisin pie. 

We are deep into the editing process — a far more daunting and time-consuming task than I expected. But we are making great progress and seeing the film come together. There’s still a long way to go. We will have color correction, sound design, music mixing, marketing, and so much more. If you have any suggestions or leads for funding or sponsorship to help pay for all this, please get in touch, (Of all the revelations, the biggest is how much cheaper and easier it is to write a book!)

Thanks for following along on this crazy but fulfilling adventure! Check back for updates. And make sure to look through the photo gallery below for pics from our shoots. For more regular updates, please sign up for my newsletter, and follow us on Facebook and Instagram at The World Needs More Pie.