For Andrew Lamping, filmmaking has always been about creating opportunities rather than waiting for them to fall into his lap.
The Clifton native began making movies as a child with his friends and his mother’s camcorder. Today, he owns Lamping Media and has expanded that childhood passion into professional filmmaking, producing commercial and creative work throughout the region.
His latest project, the horror-thriller feature “When the Night Falls,” is especially close to home. While much of the film was shot in Clifton and surrounding communities, “We also filmed a significant portion of the movie right here in Wilmington, including several key scenes in my Aunt Helen’s basement,” Lamping said.
Wilmington audiences can view the finished film on the big screen. “When the Night Falls” will be shown at The Mar Theatre in Wilmington at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 7, and Saturday, Nov. 14.
The film is scheduled to receive a national streaming release on major platforms on Jan. 22, 2027.
The film centers on a grieving woman who is found harboring a missing man in her basement. A small-town sheriff must determine whether she is a monster — or whether she’s simply trying to save one.
The filming in Wilmington quickly became something of a neighborhood curiosity.
At one point, nearly 20 cast and crew vehicles lined the neighborhood streets as production was underway. Residents would drive past in cars and golf carts, wondering what was happening.
“Once they learned a movie was being filmed, many were eager to hear more and see what we were creating,” Lamping said.
For Lamping, filming locally was a natural extension of the philosophy that has guided his career. He grew up in Clifton, where the majority of “When the Night Falls” was filmed, and deliberately wanted to tell a story using the communities and landscapes he knew.
“The area is inherently cinematic, with its expansive fields, small-town character and rural landscapes, but more importantly, I wanted to tell a story in the community that raised me,” he said.
By filming in rural areas, he is following a growing trend.
“There is a reason so many Hollywood productions are choosing to film in Illinois and in small towns like the ones around Kankakee County. I always thought, if larger productions can come here to make movies, why can’t we?” he said.
Wilmington and surrounding towns became more than filming locations. Local businesses and residents became part of the effort to bring the independent film to life.
The Whistle Stop in Diamond provided much of the catering for the production, supplying breakfast, lunch and dinner for the cast and crew throughout filming.
In June 2025, The Mar Theatre in Wilmington hosted a private cast and crew screening of “When the Night Falls.” Friends, family, and members of the production gathered to see the completed film for the first time.
Now the filmmakers are looking forward to returning to The Mar for public screenings.
From a camcorder to a feature film
An award-winning writer and filmmaker best known for his work on YouTube, where several of his videos have gained millions of views, Lamping graduated from Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida, with a bachelor’s degree in digital cinematography.
But Lamping’s filmmaking career began when he was 11 years old.
He recalls taking his mother’s camcorder and going out with friends on school nights and weekends to recreate scenes from movies. Eventually, those recreations became some of his first original short films.
“We made everything from ‘The Office’ parody sketches to action movies, constantly trying to make something that would go viral on YouTube,” he said.
During the “clown scare” craze in 2017, Lamping and his friends made a video featuring someone dressed as a clown chasing them around his parents’ house. The video eventually surpassed 1 million views on YouTube.
“That was the first moment I realized filmmaking and creating content could potentially become more than just a hobby,” he said.
The failures were equally important.
“We made movies that weren’t as funny as we thought they were, stories that didn’t translate to the screen the way we imagined, and plenty of videos that barely anyone watched,” Lamping said.
Some of the friends who helped him make those early productions remain involved in his work today.
Looking back, he considers those years his own film school.
At 18, Lamping started his own video and media company and began walking into businesses around Kankakee County to introduce himself. He financed his own films, entered festivals and learned through the school of hard knocks.
“There isn’t really a guaranteed path to becoming a working filmmaker,” Lamping said. “Looking back, I realize how often I created my own opportunities rather than waiting for someone to give them to me.”
He eventually adopted a simple philosophy.
“I decided pretty early on that I didn’t want to wait for permission. If I had the ability to make something myself, I wanted to try,” Lamping said.
Building a movie around what was available
Lamping developed the horror-thriller “When the Night Falls” in 2023, with his fiancée, Sara Will, and longtime collaborators.
Before making the film, he had written other scripts he pitched in hopes that one would eventually be purchased or financed. Eventually, however, he realized he was putting the next stage of his career in someone else’s hands.
“So I went back to the mentality that had gotten me this far: make it yourself,” he said.
He wrote a contained horror story that could be produced with the resources available to the independent filmmakers.
Because he knew business owners and families in the area, locations were available in local bars, convenience stores, churches, homes, and other buildings.
“I almost worked backward,” Lamping said. “I looked at the locations, resources and time we had available and built the story around them.”
At its heart, Lamping said, the film examines responsibility, sacrifice and the moral ambiguity of doing what people believe is right.
The filmmakers deliberately took a slow-burn approach to horror, relying on atmosphere and psychological tension rather than traditional jump scares.
“I wanted to embrace the stark landscapes of the Midwest in winter — the expansive fields, empty roads and isolated homes — and use that environment to create a sense of both beauty and unease,” he said.
Lamping continues to operate Lamping Media in the Kankakee County area, producing video, photography and other creative work for local businesses, national brands and communities. He is also writing scripts, developing future projects and working toward financing his next feature.
His motivation remains surprisingly simple.
“I’m driven by the ability to tell stories,” Lamping said. “Whether it’s a screenplay, a feature film, a commercial or something completely different, I’m happiest when I’m creating something and figuring out how to make an idea exist in the real world.”
And for Lamping, those stories don’t have to be created in Hollywood or New York.
“I think there is something special about showing people who grew up in the Midwest that you don’t necessarily have to leave the area to pursue a creative career,” he said. “Sometimes you can build something right where you are.”
Those interested in following the film’s release can find it on social media at @whenthenightfallsmovie. Lamping can be followed at @andrewjlamping.