![\"Andrew](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792320856_456_POCSQ6LQ3RAVXLE4W7H7SKXJEI.png\")
<\/p>\nFor Andrew Lamping, filmmaking has always been about creating opportunities rather than waiting for them to fall into his lap.<\/p>\n
The Clifton native began making movies as a child with his friends and his mother\u2019s camcorder. Today, he owns Lamping Media and has expanded that childhood passion into professional filmmaking, producing commercial and creative work throughout the region.<\/p>\n
His latest project, the horror-thriller feature \u201cWhen the Night Falls,\u201d is especially close to home. While much of the film was shot in Clifton and surrounding communities, \u201cWe also filmed a significant portion of the movie right here in Wilmington, including several key scenes in my Aunt Helen\u2019s basement,\u201d Lamping said.<\/p>\n
Wilmington audiences can view the finished film on the big screen. \u201cWhen the Night Falls\u201d will be shown at The Mar Theatre in Wilmington at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 7, and Saturday, Nov. 14.<\/p>\n
The film is scheduled to receive a national streaming release on major platforms on Jan. 22, 2027.<\/p>\n
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 \u2014 or whether she\u2019s simply trying to save one. <\/p>\n
The filming in Wilmington quickly became something of a neighborhood curiosity.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce they learned a movie was being filmed, many were eager to hear more and see what we were creating,\u201d Lamping said.<\/p>\n
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 \u201cWhen the Night Falls\u201d was filmed, and deliberately wanted to tell a story using the communities and landscapes he knew.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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Filmmaker Andrew Lamping (submitted)<\/p>\n
By filming in rural areas, he is following a growing trend.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere 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\u2019t we?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
In June 2025, The Mar Theatre in Wilmington hosted a private cast and crew screening of \u201cWhen the Night Falls.\u201d Friends, family, and members of the production gathered to see the completed film for the first time.<\/p>\n
Now the filmmakers are looking forward to returning to The Mar for public screenings.<\/p>\n
From a camcorder to a feature film<\/p>\n
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\u2019s degree in digital cinematography. <\/p>\n
But Lamping\u2019s filmmaking career began when he was 11 years old.<\/p>\n
He recalls taking his mother\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe made everything from \u2018The Office\u2019 parody sketches to action movies, constantly trying to make something that would go viral on YouTube,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n