Thursday, November 4, 2010

Film Brothers Movie Co-op Opening November 13

Gordon and Greg DelGiorno of Film Brothers Productions

 Brothers Gordon and Greg DelGiorno have been running their production company, Film Brothers, since 1999. They started with a focus on making feature films, but found that it was their special events brought in much of the revenue. They run the annual Film Brothers Festival of Shorts (which has been held under the umbrella of Fringe Wilmington for the past two years), and have branched out into areas such as online video commercials for small businesses, and their newest venture, the Film Brothers Movie Co-op.

The first thing Gordon wanted to make clear about the Movie Co-op -- about to inhabit the space at 205 N. Market Street -- is that it's not just for filmmakers. "It's for all kinds of artists, musicians, writers," he says. The space, a combination gallery, lounge, office and screening room (with additional adjacent space for bands) is not just the 10-year-old production company's home base, it's also going to be a space for the arts in the community.

Maybe you need a place to show and sell your artwork or put on a performance for one night -- through the Co-op, you can essentially rent the space for a reasonable fee and use it to suit your needs. Seating can be added, parts of the room can be sectioned off, wall space can be utilized. By day, the space will be open from 11-4, so artists can find information, network, work on their laptop and help the co-op run smoothly.

The arts is only one part of the picture, though: the co-op is also about brings businesspeople together with artists. "Art is about doing business," Gordon says. Both businesspeople and artists sometimes fail to recognize the importance of the other, to the detriment of both.

"You have people who have creative ideas, but they don't know business," says co-founder Greg DelGiorno. "Business people know that creativity is important, but they might not be that creative. We want to bring businesspeople and artists together."

They also want the local  politicians to commit to supporting the arts in Wilmington. At Wednesday's grand opening of the LOMA Coffee Shop a few doors down, Gordon issued the politicians, including ribbon-cutter Governor Jack Markell, a challenge: "What can you do to help art grow and function?" -- a challenge that was received optimistically: "The governor stepped up."

 In the coming months, Film Brothers plans big events such as a movie-themed Battle of the Bands in March, and a Street Festival on Market to help raise funds and create business opportunities next June. In the meantime, they hope for plenty of involvement, and a full calendar, starting with the Movie Co-op Opening on Saturday November 13, featuring local arts and the opportunity to learn more.

Find Film Brothers on Facebook and Twitter.

3 comments:

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  2. Thank you for the invite Gordon! I do have an early event to attend in NJ, but will be there after 3:00pm. I am looking forward to seeing you and everyone else! It will be a great time! Thank you again!

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  3. What a terrific idea from Wilmington's most famous brothers! Wish you the best of success in this very creative endeaver.

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