Andy Wiest, Director

Born in Montana and raised in Wyoming, Andrew James Wiest grew up around movies. His family owned a drive-in theater in Cody, Wyoming. As soon as he realized he could not only watch movies, but make them, he had his mom (the school librarian) bring home the school’s camera on the weekends. Through junior high and high school, all of his free time was spent making movies with his friends. And when he wasn’t making movies, the obvious answer: working at a video store. Throughout his life, Andy was unable to escape the iron grip the video store has on his life. Working in a video store in Cody for four years, then moving, and working at one in Bozeman, Montana, for four years, Andy made it his life’s goal to one day pay for rentals like a normal human being. In his quest to stop working at video stores, Andy decided he should probably start making money by making movies. So he made the next logical step and decided to go to film school. But after viewing his demo reel, the professor told him wouldn’t learn anything at school he didn’t already know. The choice was easy, school wasn’t for him. With his tuition money, he bought a camera and computer and got serious. In need of a producer, Andy got married (the partnership/marriage has worked out well for both of them). Alhough he had directed multiple short films and music videos, the time had come to conquer his first feature length movie and Pizza, Pesos, and Pistoleros was born. Four years later, it was finished. During the last three of those years, Andy had been working non-video store jobs. But with the movie complete, marketing time had come for Pizza, Pesos, and Pistoleros and film festivals aren’t free. When the managing position at a local video store was offered, Andy tried to resist, but couldn’t. He continues to shoot music videos, shorts, and just odd-ball video work , while marketing Pizza, Pesos, and Pistoleros and managing a video store, on the side.

Andy doesn’t want to be famous. He doesn’t want to be a millionaire. He just wants to make movies and not work at video stores.