When Delaware native Luke Matheny won the Oscar for Best Short Film (Live Action) for his film “God of Love” last February and subsequently gave his home state a shout out in his acceptance speech, it brought substantial attention to film making in the First State. It’s the kind of attention Gordon DelGiorno thinks that the Delaware film making community has earned.
“There is a lot more going on here than people think,” said DelGiorno, co-owner of Film Bros. Productions and Movie Co-op.
DelGiorno and Film Bros. host their 4th Annual Festival of Shorts this weekend as part of the annual Fringe Festival in Wilmington. Matheny’s “God of Love”, which was last year’s Festival of Shorts winning film, will be shown again along with a series of other shorts over two nights at Theatre N. Both nights, Friday, September 23 and Saturday, September 24, have already sold out. The Wilmington Fringe Festival, which kicked off Wednesday night, is in its third year and is expected to highlight over 200 artists, filmmakers and performers during its 5 day run.
“A good film will provoke some sort of emotion put of you and no matter what that [emotion] is, it’s going to get you thinking and that what the Fringe is all about – getting people to think out on the edges, outside of their comfort zone.” said DelGiorno. “I think were sort of tame compare to what some of the Fringe stuff does, but its still stuff that’s provocative.”
Among the films playing at the Festival of Shorts is “20 Minutes”, a short from Delaware-based husband and wife filmmakers G. Lloyd and Dawn Morris of IAM Filmworks. The film focuses on a character, Evan Jones, who vows to change his life as he leaves prison for the “umpteeth” time and the choices he faces in the first 20 minutes after release that test his resolve. (See “20 Minutes” trailer here)
“Not only was the story based on 20 minutes in a person’s life, but it was also a strong message about how many things can happen to you in a short period of time and how one bad decision can change your whole life,” said Dawn Morris.
DFM News sat down with DelGiorno and Dawn Morris to discuss the “Festival of Shorts”, making short films and film making in Delaware. Excerpts of those interviews are below:
Spotlight falls on short films during Wilmington’s Fringe Festival
Film Bros. Gordon DelGiorno and filmmaker Dawn Morris discuss short films and film making in Delaware.
