A Film About a Family of Exterminators

<em>Pester</em>,<em> </em>the new film by <strong>Eric Gerber</strong>, is a reflection on the American Dream.<em> Pester </em>follows a family of exterminators who face economic and ethical challenges to their livelihood. Gerber, a graduate of UW-Milwaukee's film school, funded his passion project himself and explicitly chose to use Milwaukee actors. Almost three years in the making,<em> Pester </em>is both oddly timely and dark.<strong><em><br /><br />The American Dream is touched upon in </em></strong><strong>Pester<em>. What do you believe it is?</em></strong><br /><br />I think the American Dream is different for different people. This film is about trying to hold on to what you already havethe simple dream of wanting to have a business, a family, and wanting to make a life for yourself. My film is about a family of exterminators, a very unusual idea of what the American Dream could be.<strong><em><br /><br />Describe the family's struggle.</em></strong><br /><br />The film centers on a small pest-control business that's been around for generations but is slowly being crushed out by bigger corporations. Meanwhile, the main character, Paul Pester, is in a position to take over the family business, but he has a very different idea of what the business should be; specifically, he feels the ethical dilemma of killing pests. Although the film may be dark and twisted at times, there is certainly a family root.<br /><br /><strong><em>You chose Milwaukee actors. Why?</em></strong><br /><br />I lived in Milwaukee for five years. Right now I live in Los Angeles and I think about my time in Milwaukee and how much I miss being there, especially the creative talent. I really wanted to keep my connection to Milwaukee. It is also uncommon for a director to import a cast from a place like Milwaukee. The cast is one of my favorite things about the film.<strong><em><br /><br />What do you hope audiences take away from </em></strong><strong>Pester<em>?</em></strong><br /><br />I didn't want this film to have a literal message, like, “This is what I want you to believe.” I want audiences to walk away with more questions than answers about America and family. There's a lot of room for interpretation. I hope it's a challenging film for audiences.<strong><em><br /><br />Is there a release date?</em></strong><br /><br />I plan to have it released in December. I'm also looking at screenings for various film festivals.