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Heart's Delight

Marilyn Messina describes 20th century life on her family’s orchards in the in the “Valley of Heart’s Delight,” Santa Clara Valley, CA. Viewers follow five stages in fruit trees’ yearly cycle—from dormancy through harvest. Each stage relates to her family’s growth, from her grandfather’s arrival from Sicily in 1905 to their cultivation of four hundred acres in the 1960s.

  • Chip Curry
    Director
  • Marilyn Messina
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    35 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    September 1, 2025
  • Production Budget:
    30,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital Video
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
  • Blossom Festival, Saratoga, CA
    San Jose, CA
    United States
    May 17, 2025
    Official Selection
Director Biography - Chip Curry

Chip Curry has produced documentary films for California Humanities Council, National Parks Service, California School for the Blind, The Croatian American Cultural Center, Silicon Valley Jewish Community Center, and many musicians and visual artists. He also maintains a career as an acoustic musician specializing in banjo and fiddle, performing hundreds of shows per year.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

I was a city boy, but many of my ancestors were farmers. I visited the family farm as a child and was captivated. I admired the strength, the self-sufficiency and how they were close to creation. I now live in the Santa Clara Valley CA, which was a major fruit growing region for a century. I always wanted to make a film about it and when I met Marilyn Messina, I knew the time had come. Watch the film… and enjoy the harvest.