Read an interview with George Tsioutsioulas, director of The Story of Furious Pete, which premieres on April 30

“You’re going to laugh. It’s a funny, quirky documentary and there are tears as well through out and it’s also fun and bizarre.” - George Tsioutsioulas, director of The Story of Furious Pete, which follows Pete 'Furious Pete' Czerwinski, a competitive speed eater - and a former anorexic - as he struggles to gain control of his life.

The sold-out, world premiere of The Story of Furious Pete takes place on Friday, April 30 at 7:30 pm at the Royal Cinema. The doc screens again on Sunday, May 9 at 1:30 PM at Cumberland Cinema 3, and this screening is also sold-out.

DOCspace interviewed George Tsioutsioulas about making The Story of Furious Pete.

Over the last seventeen years, George Tsioutsioulas (also known at That Guy) has juggled a television career in front of the camera, as well as one behind the scenes. He has interviewed celebrities from Brad Pitt to Britney Spears and has hosted, produced and created shows for OMNI, City TV, Global, W Network, Rogers TV, APTN, High Fidelity HDTV, the Biography Channel and CTV. Tsioutsioulas directed and co-produced the do with Igal Hecht, his producing partner at GI Production. Igal Hecht has produced, filmed, edited and directed nearly forty documentaries and various television shows.

DOCspace: The Story of Furious Pete is getting a lot of buzz. What’s your reaction to all the media coverage of the doc?

George Tsioutsioulas: It’s really become a whole other thing right now and yes, it’s kind of crazy. You hear people talk about different projects which they’re so immersed in it and then all of a sudden it’s done. But sometimes a project has the privilege and honor of connecting with people to become a whole other thing. That’s where I am right now. I knew there was something special and unique and bizarre with this story, when I first started shooting it. I didn’t know exactly how people would react, but their reactions have been amazing. Press in Canada want to talk about the documentary, which is great. And even people as far away as Stockholm are emailing to talk about it. It’s getting out there, which is a beautiful thing.

Did you do any test screenings with audiences during the production process?

GT: I didn’t do any real test screeninga aside from my wife, who has seen different version as it’s been fine tuned, and with a couple of family members, and one or two friends, but other than that no, so I’m a little freaked out. I don’t know exactly how people will react when we’re in the theatre. Sitting there with 450 people and watching it for the first time is going to be interesting.

When I watched some of Pete’s YouTube videos I had to look away at times. I found it difficult to watch him shovel that much food down his throat.

GT: It’s really so much more than just the grossness of the eating contents and I think people will get passed that factor. And that’s the reaction I’m getting from different media people who’ve seen the documentary and reviewed it. They’re surprised it’s not just a gross out kind of film. It does in it’s own strange way have a heart warming and inspiring message. It kind of started out with being about the whole world of competitive eating and then when I discovered Pete and found out about his back story and his struggles with his eating disorder it just became so much more strange and deeper. This doc has been a team effort between myself and my co-producer Igal Hecht and our goal was to make something that was strange and gross and quirky and heartwarming and inspiring, and those are the words that are popping up from people who have seen it.

There are definitely tragic elements to the storyline. Pete’s mother is dealing with multiple sclerosis among other family issues.

GT: Yes, one of things that led Pete to develop an eating disorder was that he didn’t know how to deal with the news of his mother having MS, and the fact that his father was diagnosed with being bipolar, and the fact that Pete himself was falsely diagnosed with cancer. But once he conquered and overcame his eating disorder, it was sweet to see Pete take it upon himself to try raise as much awareness and money as possible for MS, to try to help his mother. That’s another story line you’ll see in the film.

An article in The National Post quotes Gisèle Gordon, Hot Doc’s Canadian Spectrum programmer, as saying: “If we were asked to pick a theme for the Canadian Spectrum program, it would have to be death, or rather examining life through death or dying." How does The Story of Furious Pete fit into the line-up?

GT: The doc kind of treads that fine line. But it’s also fun. You’re going to laugh. It’s a funny, quirky documentary and there are tears as well through out and it’s also fun and bizarre. I didn’t want it to be heavy all the way through or gross all the way through. I feel it's like a roller coaster ride.

When did you first start to film Pete?

GT: We started last summer. You know it all happened fairly quickly. We had a pretty clear idea of what we were going to shoot and achieve and what the story was. It wasn’t one of those documentaries where you film for years and years and figure out the story after the fact. It was clear what the story was going to be and we didn’t have to over-shoot that much. So it was all within a year, with six to seven months of shooting. The eating contests happen in the summer, so we went on a road trip to the US where most of these contests are held. We could still be shooting today, but I think we achieved what we wanted to achieve.

That’s a pretty fast turn-around.

GT: For the first few months I knew I wanted to do a documentary on competitive eating, because I think it’s so crazy and absurd. Then I found out about Pete, who is quite the YouTube sensation, tracked him down and connected with him. Hee figured out who I was and started to feel comfortable with me and then we moved on to getting the funding. OMNI funded this, which was great and it’s going to air on OMNI in the fall. So as soon as OMNI came forward and made it possible things all started to happen fairly quickly.

How did Pete feel about participating in the documentary?

GT: He was keen. Pete is still young, he’s only 24 years old so I think he still has a whole other adventure ahead of him. He’s done a few TV appearances here and there but none of them focused on the deeper part of his story. It was always about how many meat balls he could shove into him. and there’s definitely that aspect to this doc but I wanted to find the human element to him too and to his fame. So he was open to it, but I think he was also a little hesitant until he figured out who I was and that I had no interest to exploit his story or make him look bad. I was just fascinated by him, like most people who hear the pitch about what this documentary is, it’s about a professional competitive eater who used to be anorexic. And so anytime I would say that to anybody before we started shooting, the reaction was always the same, it was, what? And so at that point I knew it was something unique and I just wanted to tell the story. As a filmmaker you’re always looking for something strange and unique and it was just that. I didn’t have to make anything up. And everything fell into place.

And at the same time were you juggling your other television projects?

GT: I think I’m a little crazy. I work best when I’m stressed and have a lot going on. So yes, I still worked on my other stuff. I got my start being on camera hosting various things over the last 17 years, so I’m still doing that. I have a travel show which is airing on CTV Travel and Escape called the Hospitality Guide. And I also do movie reviews on Treasure HD for High Fidelity HD TV. And my production company, aside from documentaries and film and TV projects, also does corporate promotional videos. So it’s been busy, it’s just a matter of juggling all that, but somehow it works out. And I have a little guy at home.

You're very hands-on, so in terms of distribution and marketing for Furious Pete, will you also be managing those angles yourself?

GT: Yes, I don’t know how to sit back and let other people do things but I’m trying to learn how to let people do things a little bit more. I do have a distribution company who signed on, Tricon Films. They’re going to be distributing the documentary around the world. And we’ve already had interest from companies like BBC and some of the big names out there. But first and foremost it’s going to air on OMNI, they have the first window and that will happen in the fall.

My producing partner Igal Hecht and I have some definite plans of what we to do with the documentary from this point forward. There’s definitely an educational aspect to this film as well. Aside from the competitive eating aspect it deals with issues we don’t often hear about, like male anorexia and male body image. So aside from the two screenings we have at Hot Docs, we’re participating in the festival’s Docs For School program. What they do is they select seven or eight films that have an educational component that would be appealing to students in Ontario and then put on screenings for them. They’ve asked for the Story of Furious Pete and so we will do two screenings for that program. We’re also going to approach schools, universities and colleges and try to sell it to them. I definitely think that right now the life of this doc is just beginning.

Did you have any other sponsors or funders backing the doc besides OMNI?

GT: Funding is definitely the hardest part. You talk to people and they say, ‘I have a great idea’, everyone’s got a great idea, but how are you going to make that great idea a reality? But luckily OMNI funded it 100%. We didn’t have to go searching for sponsors which is a rare treat.

You already had a relationship with OMNI, through your previous doc Miles From Home: A Road Story.

GT: Yes, that documentary was about Pablo, a musician who is in the vein of the Gypsy Kings. He went head-to-head with R Kelly. R Kelly sampled one of his songs with out asking and Pablo found out and as a result now own 25% of the song ‘Fiesta’, and made quite a bit of money from that. So that was me on the road with him and exposing his music to people. So OMNI funded that one. And the other documentary I did was Postcard on the Rez, for APTN.

Any other festival screenings coming up?

GT: Besides Hot Docs, we’ve also been accepted into a few big festivals. We’re screening Furious Pete at the International Film Festival South Africa and at the Okanogan International Film Festival, and I expect more news in the next few weeks. Like I said before is that the marketing is going to keep the film alive and take it to the next level. But nothing comes with out some blood, sweat and tear.

What’s next?

IGT:  have a long list of ideas but there are two or three I’m developing now and shopping around and hopefully it will happen fairly soon.

For more information about The Story of Furious Pete screenings visit: www.hotdocs.ca/film/title/the_story_of_furious_pete and www.furiouspetedocumentary.com.