The Pez Outlaw, a documentary produced by Gravitas Ventures, follows a guy as he travels the globe in pursuit of rare Pez dispensers. Collector Steve Glew (played by Glew himself in the reenactments) travels to Eastern Europe in search of Pez dispensers that disappeared during Soviet rule. A collector exists for any item that can be imagined. And in any collection, there are certain extremely rare artefacts that may make its owner very wealthy. For this reason, Glew travelled to Eastern Europe in search of Pez dispensers he could not find in the United States and resell for a profit.
It seems like a simple concept, but as word spread that Glew had smuggled back Pez from Europe, the Pez candy business began to investigate. To send a message to anyone who might be tempted to steal their ideas, the firm intended to make an example out of Glew for bringing dispensers from Slovenia into the United States that were not permitted for distribution in the country. The absurdity of Glew’s tale alone justifies seeing the documentary. The new trailer for The Pez Outlaw, however, shows that the film has no problem making jokes about the humorous subject matter.
Amy Bandlien Storkel and Bryan Storkel know how to keep things interesting by having Glew rehearse his escapades, with various references to classic espionage thrillers, even though a documentary must always reveal the truth and provide a voice to every element engaged in a subject. We’re excited to see the full film if the trailer is this amusing. With its international debut at this year’s SXSW Film Festival, The Pez Outlaw was awarded the Special Jury Prize. Sidestilt Films, led by filmmaker Storkels, collaborated with Library Films, Fostered Films, and Paragraph Films to create the documentary. On Friday, October 21st, the Pez Outlaw will be made accessible on demand.
Synopsis
In ‘The Pez Outlaw,’ we follow Steve Glew, a guy from a tiny town in Michigan, as he travels to Eastern Europe immediately after the Berlin Wall comes down. His objective is to find the mysterious facility that produces the most sought-after and expensive Pez dispensers. If he is successful, he will be able to free his family from debt and leave the job he has had for the past quarter of a century. Steve becomes the protagonist of his own story when he becomes wealthy by smuggling rare items into the United States. Everything was magical until his mortal enemy, The Pezident, determined to wipe him off.