(An Iowa News Service story) – Beth Howard isn’t afraid of starting from scratch. “That is how I like to learn,” says Howard, who premiered PIEOWA, her first documentary film production, at age 63. “Just dive in and figure it out.” 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. Howard’s 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.

In 2009, the sudden death of her young husband, Marcus, sent her to Iowa in search of solace. Howard began selling pastry out of the iconic American Gothic House in rural Eldon before sharing that story in “Making Piece: A memoir of love, loss and pie,” released in 2012. While writing through her grief, pie became both medium and muse. Four years of sharing slices proved Howard’s thesis: a hand-crimped crust is a shortcut to building community. “I think we’re lonely, and pie is this thing that brings people together,” Howard says. “Usually, if it’s a whole pie, you sit around and share it. You don’t just get one piece for yourself.”

During her first year as a widow, she and a TV producer friend set out in Marcus’s 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. More than a decade later, she still couldn’t shake the idea. In 2023, Howard formed “Camp Dough Productions” and decided to bootstrap an on-screen exploration of pie. Originally, she envisioned a coast-to-coast project that would satisfy her wanderlust. Working with a tiny budget, Howard would have to focus.

Seeing a postcard with RAYGUN’s “Faces of Iowa” design, which includes an outline of the state depicted as fresh apple pie, sparked a realization. “When I saw the word PIEOWA, I went, ‘That’s it!’” she says. “I’m going to do the State Fair, and RAGBRAI, and so many other stories.” Making a documentary challenged Howard to transform something raw into a finished product. This time, instead of flour and sugar, she was mixing footage. PIEOWA blends segments about beloved Iowa events with interviews of famous Iowans, including actor Tom Arnold and State Auditor Rob Sand. Amateur and professional bakers like Rachelle Long, whose Chellie’s Sugar Shack sweet potato pies make a mouthwatering cameo, also showcase their skills on-screen.

Since PIEOWA’s premiere, audiences across the state have been eating it up. Ben Godar, director of Des Moines Film and programmer of Varsity Cinema, credits familiar faces of Iowans and a heartwarming message with making PIEOWA one of the longest-running movies since the venue’s re-opening in late 2022. “I added a couple more [screenings], and a couple more, and a couple more,” he says. “People just kept coming.”

A September film festival screening at Hollywood’s famous TCL Chinese Theater was a ‘pinch-me’ moment for Howard, who started her career in Los Angeles. She’s grateful for the warm reception, especially during a polarizing political moment. “[Pie] is a subject that makes people feel so good, and they’re just hungry for that,” she says. “No pun intended.”