Film shot in St. Joseph premiering at the Trail

By Ashley Luthans

A local filmmaker is bringing his latest work to the Trail Theatre on Saturday. 

“Wholesome Grove” is a family drama that will play at the Trail Theatre, located at 111 N. Ninth Street, at 7 p.m. on April 13. The film was shot in St. Joseph and Kansas City, featuring local spots such as Krug Park and the Missouri Western nursing facility.

“The film’s about a greedy CEO who’s trying to tear down a patch of woods called Wholesome Grove, and a terminally ill teenager who is trying to save the woods before she dies,” director Eric Willis said.

Willis said he first wrote this script back in 2019. He let the script sit for a while, and after completing his first feature film, Willis picked it back up and decided to create “Wholesome Grove.”

“It’s a family film, you can bring the kids,” Willis said. “It’s what we call a family drama. Hardly really any cuss words at all. And it’s an emotional story, and it’ll hit you in the feels.”

Willis said he had fun creating the film and working with this cast and crew.

“I worked with a lot of new people and I love doing that because I learn from them as much as they learn from me,” Willis said. “And it just kind of helps me grow, working with new people and nuances of how they work and all that.”

“Wholesome Grove” won Best Feature in the Redwood Film Festival, an online monthly film festival. The film was also selected to be shown at KC FilmFest.

Tickets are available at thetrailtheatre.com and are $10 for adults and $7.50 for children ages 12 and under.