That’s a ‘wrap’: Filming of Christmas Christian movie takes place in Seaford

Dukes Films recently wrapped filming of the short film “My Manger” last week in Seaford. Filming for the movie took place at Gallery 107 in downtown Seaford.

“We didn’t want to do a film for the sake of doing a film. We wanted the production to be high value,” said TJ Dukes.

TJ, the film’s writer and director, went to film school and has always wanted to do his own film after helping others with their films. TJ and his wife, Rachel, own and run Dukes Films, which primarily does weddings and events.

Husband and wife TJ Dukes and Rachel Dukes, owners of Dukes Films, are shown in front of the book case they purchased on Wayfair and put together for the film “My Manger” which they filmed at Gallery 107 in Seaford. Books were borrowed from Rachel’s grandfather for the film, set in a book store. TJ wrote and directed the short film.

“We wanted it to be local,” Rachel said.

TJ reached out to the gallery to use part of the facility to shoot the independent film because it had a good window display. The film is set in a book store. They transformed the site into a book store, ordering bookcases from Wayfair and putting them together and using Rachel’s grandfather’s books.

TJ called the art studio a “blank canvas”. Three paintings were kept on the walls of the converted book store with permission from the local artists.

The project was done in cooperation of many local organizations and businesses including Gallery 107, the arts council, Little Wagon Produce (which let them borrow their truck), and Seaford Mayor Matt MacCoy, who had a cameo in the film. Members of the community also donated money to help finance it.

“Even though it was his vision, it was a big community effort,” said Rachel.

The film centers around a bookstore owner who lost his wife the year before, around Christmas time. A woman visited the store as a child and later wrote a book based on a story the store owner’s wife told her at the time.

“It’s grief surrender and rediscovered faith through simple things that God puts before you,” TJ said.

One of the main props for the movie is a manger that TJ built years ago as a decoration for his home. The other is a book that he wrote, called “My Manger”. Artist Riley Culver illustrated the book. TJ dedicated it to his mom, who passed away last year.

Filming for the short film took place for two days with a full cast and crew, with around 25 cast and crew members at one point. Extras were locals while the main cast consisted of two actors from Washington, D.C. and one from Philadelphia. TJ relied heavily on Directory of Photography Josh Kline as well as sound guy Josh Lynch and script supervisor Bill Sammons.

“It was definitely something I could not have done without the team of people I had,” said TJ. “It was a wonderful experience. It was the most fun I’ve had in awhile.”

Dukes said he was nervous trying to get the film done in a short amount of time. One challenge was to make it snow for the film when it was 50 degrees outside.

The film is now in post production, which will take place for three to four months and will include rough cutting, music score, color grading, other work. While this process is being done, the Dukes are still raising money for the film.

“There’s a lot that it takes before putting it in front of an audience,” TJ said.

TJ said the goal is to submit it to festivals and hope it does well, providing funds for future films. Because it is a short film, it will ultimately be on You Tube instead of streaming. Dukes said he plans to do release screening when the film is ready.

To help fund the movie, visit Mymangermovie.com and click on the link for crowd funding.