Beckley filmmakers present Ambrosia, a comedy set in the historic Ambrosia Inn

BECKLEY, W.Va. — Two Beckley filmmakers say a soon-to-be-released comedy they are directing, set entirely at Beckley’s historic Ambrosia Inn, will pay homage to some Hollywood classics while honoring the place they call home.

David Gravely and Shane Pierce have been filmmaking partners in Beckley for ten years and said “Ambrosia!” is a unique project that they have been inspired to create for some time.

After making several short films and some web series with their production company Butter Chicken Pictures, this film is their second full-length feature film.

Gravely, the film’s director and screenwriter, said the Ambrosia Inn is a well-known gem in the Beckley community and they felt it would be a unique setting for the film.

“We wanted to take a more classic approach to a film this time, but we wanted to be imaginative and find a location that we thought would look good, and the Ambrosia just appealed to us because we love Beckley and Ambrosia embodies that historic Beckley thing through and through,” Gravely said.

Pierce, the co-director and writer, said it was an eccentric comedy in which even more eccentric characters find themselves trapped together in a hotel after warnings of a terrible storm on the horizon.

“It’s like an over-the-top slapstick farce that follows the day in the life of the owner and operator of this inn, trying to survive from morning to night with all these crazy guests, the threat of bad weather and just the problems that crop up along the way,” Pierce said.

Pierce said they wanted to focus on a single location and tell the entire story there. He said they originally had the idea of ​​the action taking place in an apartment complex.

As they continued to develop the ideas for the film, they thought of old Hollywood slapstick comedies, where people fall over and play pranks on each other like in The Three Stooges, and they wanted to mix that with homages to other classic films like Howard Hawks or Preston Sturges.

He said that was when their film concept really started to take shape and form.

“We thought, okay, instead of an apartment, we’ll have this beautiful building and bring everyone together in the same rooms, and we’ll keep this slapstick thing with the high energy where people are falling down the stairs or getting blown around the house like a runaway vacuum cleaner and crazy stuff like that,” he said.

Gravely said they are now at the very end of post-production on the film, which is scheduled to premiere Friday, Sept. 27, at the Raleigh Playhouse and Theater in Beckley.

Pierce said the film will premiere almost immediately afterward on Oct. 3 at the Mountain Craft Film Festival in Clarksburg at the Robinson Grand Performing Arts Center. He said Fairmont-based Mountain Craft Productions also helped them create the film.

Pierce said the film festival was a huge opportunity.

“They showcase some of the best work being done in the state and the region, and they have the best filmmakers in the state and the region here to speak, do presentations and panels. It’s just a real experience to be a part of,” he said.

Both Gravely and Pierce said the film has the potential to reach even greater heights.

They said they would submit the film to national and international film festivals and are also considering holding one-off and short-term theatrical screenings of the production across the country and region.

Gravely said that this was also a motivation for her to continue to realize further film projects in the future.

“We have several ideas already and it’s just a matter of time before we feel the best way to move forward. But once Ambrosia! is out there and we give it a chance to take off, there are several ideas we want to pursue. We want to use a lot of the same actors and the same cast and crew and everything else. So we’re just waiting until it’s time again,” Gravely said.

However, Pierce said neither the filmmaking process nor future projects would have been possible without the tremendous support they received from the community.

He said they wanted the project to truly benefit the Beckley community, which has shown so much support in making it happen.

“We couldn’t have done this at this level without the community outreach and support of the people of Beckley. We really hope and believe that this will impact them and that people who see the film will say, ‘Wow, Beckley, what a place this is, I want to know more about it,'” Pierce said.

The film has a length of about 90 minutes.

Tickets for the film’s premiere at the Raleigh Playhouse are available on the Facebook page “Ambrosia” – a production of Butter Chicken Pictures.

Doors open for the premiere on September 27th at 6:30 p.m., film starts at 7 p.m.