Wayne Avenue between Keowee and Bainbridge streets was closed earlier this month for filming.
Ellenmarie Wahlrab, Djuna Wahlrab’s mother and one of the We’re Doing Fine’s three producers, said the film is very much a story about Dayton and Midwestern cities like it.
Not only will area residents recognize places in the movie, they will identify with the story, she said.
“It is about a lot of rust belt cities where people are deciding whether to stay or go,” Wahlrab said.
The film is about two friends, one who moved from Dayton and the other who stayed.
“It is really a Dayton movie,” Wahlrab, a 35-year Dayton resident, said. “I feel very sensitive to how it (Dayton) is portrayed. I find there is a poignancy with it (the film).”
Adam Miller, also a 2001 Stivers grad, is director of photography.
Filming started in late October.
Like Miller and Djuna Wahlrab, the two lead actors are New York-based, but Ellenmarie Wahlrab said several local and regional actors have roles.
The independent’s low cost meant it did not qualify for Ohio Motion Picture Tax Credit.
Wahlrab said the production was assisted by the non-profit Film Dayton and several business that donated food or drinks, including Wheat Penny and Press Coffee Bar. The English teacher at Miami University’s Middletown campus and her husband Tom scouted locations for the film.
The film’s 25-member crew work out of a former warehouse near the intersection of Wayne Avenue and Fifth Street.
We’re Doing Fine editor Eric Rothman said nationally-known Dayton musician Kelley Deal and Mike Montgomery of the band R. Ring will provide music for the film’s soundtrack.
After editing and other post-production work, Djuna Wahlrab will present We’re Doing Fine at film festivals.
Ellenmarie Wahlrab said Dayton is a character in the movie partly about the complicated relationship people have with their hometowns.
“How does your hometown raise you,” she said.
Contact this columnist at arobinson@DaytonDailyNews.com or Twitter.com/DDNSmartMouth
About the Author
