KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City's film scene has grown over the years, and a local couple, Stephen and Mary Pruitt, has been part of it.
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Their new movie, "State of Grace," tackles the throws of addiction and recovery.
"When you think of your classic opioid addict, it's you know, somebody laying in the gutter. And point of fact that's not really the story. The real story is people really struggling to hold their lives together through an addiction," Stephen Pruitt said.
An important part of any story, is finding one worth telling — something that matters.
That's what drives Mary and Stephen Pruitt.
They're local filmmakers who don't just live in Kansas City, they shoot their movies and work in the metro area.
“We love to showcase Kansas City. We love looking for locations," Mary Pruitt said.
Stephen and Mary wrote "State of Grace" loosely around real events.
Without giving any spoilers, it's a story about a mother wresting her life from the grip of opioid addiction.
"Maybe this will help to keep somebody else from experiencing the same loss," Stephen Pruitt said.
Despite their numerous films and clear vision on their projects, the two only started shooting movies a few years ago.
"When we first bought our camera we didn't even know how to turn it on," Mary Pruitt said. “But we just jumped in and began.”
Stephen Pruitt is a full-time business professor at UMKC.
"I said, you know, we'll figure it out, and then we did," he said.
Their film company's motto is, "making films to make a difference."
They hope "State of Grace" does.
"Let's make films that we think matter," Stephen Pruitt said. "And to heck with it if it doesn't make us a dime, that's okay. Our investors are alright with that. They want people to be helped as a result of our work."
You'll soon be able to find "State of Grace," along with the rest of their work, on Amazon Video.
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