Critically acclaimed movie 'Delaware Shore' shot in Slaughter Beach
Jerry SmithIndie filmmaker Raghav Peri couldn't imagine shooting his first feature-length film "Delaware Shore" anywhere other than Slaughter Beach.
Introduced to the small Delaware Bay community by New Castle author Michaelangelo Rodriguez — who wrote a book by the same name — Peri said he immediately got the same sense of belonging that Rodriguez did in the coastal town.
"I knew this is where it had to be," Peri said.
The New Jersey-based director, who lived in Delaware during production and for a better part of four years before departing in 2018, said the state has always been a place for refugees.
The film focuses on a Holocaust survivor who escaped the concentration camps and is haunted by the atrocities of war as she searches for refuge on a secluded beach.
And while a house at Slaughter Beach was the movie's main location, scenes were also shot in Rehoboth Beach, Lewes, Milford, Newark and Wilmington.
"Delaware Shore" begins where other Holocaust movies end, Peri pointed out.
"I want people to have a larger dialogue about the time and for people to take home the spirit of the characters," Peri said.
The survivor raises her twin grandchildren who were abandoned on her doorstep out of obligation, but has a hard time showing much affection.
Both the children grow up to be bright and talented, but struggle to find the affection they miss at home and to deal with unforeseen life-changing moments.
The film, which made a big splash at both the New York Film Awards and Los Angeles Film Awards in December 2017, has earned 15 awards.
"Delaware Shore" received top honors for Best Drama and Best Inspirational Film at the New York Film Awards, as well as Best Score at the Los Angeles Film Awards.
The film also won for Best Indie Filmmaker and Best Score at the Los Angeles Film Awards and Best First Time Director (Raghav Peri) and Best Editing (David Scott Titus) at the New York Film Awards.
It opens Dec. 21 in Los Angeles and Dec. 28 in New York.
Peri said the film will then be released in the Delaware and Philadelphia markets with hopes of a nationwide distribution thereafter.
Delaware-made
Slaughter Beach Mayor Harry Ward said there was a quiet buzz in town when Peri and Avocado Media were shooting.
He's happy the community will be featured in the film but wants Slaughter Beach to remain "a sleepy little town."
"It reminds people of the wonderful place we live and that there are so many little stories that can come from small towns," Ward said.
Some of the beach exteriors filmed in Rehoboth Beach and in Lewes, and several scenes feature Milford’s Riverwalk. Some interiors are Peri's own apartment in Newark and sets built in Newark and New Castle.
Peri said he also used about 50 extras from the area in an auditorium scene filmed at the Delaware Contemporary on the Wilmington Riverfront.
The filmmaker made his Delaware debut with "Bar Study," a 40-minute short film shot at the Oddity Bar in Newark. He said that some scenes in "Delaware Shore" also were filmed at that location.
About 'Delaware Shore'
• Movie name: "Delaware Shore"
• Genre: Drama
• Budget: $90,000
• Written, produced and directed: Raghav Peri
• Locations: Slaughter Beach, Milford, Newark, Rehoboth Beach, Lewes, Wilmington
• Based on the novel: "Delaware Shore" by Michaelangelo Rodriguez
• Production company: Avocado Media (98 minutes, not rated)
• Starring: Gail Wagner, Emily McKinley Hill, James Robinson Jr., Kevin Austra, Ed Aristone, Kevin Francis, Sharyn Pak Withers, and Jason R. Maga.
• Awards: Winner - Los Angeles Film Awards; New York Film Awards; Hollywood International Moving Pictures Film Festival; Calcutta International Cult Film Festival; Oniros Film Awards; Accolade Competition;Festigious International Film Festival.
• Los Angeles release: Dec. 21-28 at Arena Cinelounge Sunset, 6464 Sunset Blvd., Lobby Level, Hollywood
• New York release: Dec. 28-Jan. 3 at Cinema Village, 22 E. 12th St., New York
• Delaware release: January 2019 (tentative)
About Slaughter Beach
• Slaughter Beach was founded in 1681 and incorporated in 1931. In the early years, the town was primarily a summer resort for Milford-area residents.
• In its heyday, Slaughter Beach had a dance hall, hotels and a boardwalk, but with the advance of the automobile and road systems, more and more people started traveling to the Rehoboth area and Slaughter Beach turned into a seasonal fishing village.
• Present day Slaughter Beach, which is just north of the Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge, has a full-time population of 198 people with many more in the summer.
Source: The state of Delaware
Reach Jerry Smith at jsmith17@delawareonline.com. follow him on Twitter at @JerrySmithTNJ.
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