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Support Group for Fictional Characters

In a world where fictional characters from every story live side-by-side, the wacky neighbor from an 80s sitcom and the lead from a classic musical navigate questions of identity, outside of the ways they were written.

  • Jon Sorokin
    Director
  • Jon Sorokin
    Writer
  • Andrew Rosica
    Key Cast
    "Chuck"
  • Clare Walston
    Key Cast
    "Eve"
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Comedy, Romance
  • Production Budget:
    500 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Franklin & Marshall College
Director Biography - Jon Sorokin

Jon Sorokin is a fourth-year Film & Media and English (Creative Writing) dual-major at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, PA. Sorokin has been writing, directing, and editing his own content for over 10 years, often in the form of short films and sketch comedy videos.

For his senior thesis film, he has opted to remake and reimagine his senior film from high school, Support Group for Fictional Characters, as a demonstration of everything that he has learned through his film education and how he has grown as a filmmaker in the last four years

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Director Statement

When I wrote the original Support Group for Fictional Characters back in 2019, I barely knew what "cinematography" meant.

I knew that a film I had made two years prior in my high school's film festival had won "Best Cinematography," and I had a vague understanding of why certain shots in movies were more interesting than others, but no formal definition of the word nor any idea how to set up a frame beyond instinct.

It's mind-boggling to me that, when I made the original, I never thought to write a shot list or plan any angles. I really can't believe I did it by the seat of my pants. For a while, all of my filmmaking was just instinct – maybe that's why every time I try to consider what I've learned in my four-year film education, my filmmaking process feels newly technical, but every bit as creative as before. One of the most valuable things that I feel I have gotten from this major is a deeper understanding of my filmmaking instincts, and a knowledge of how to use them most effectively.

That's why Support Group for Fictional Characters is the perfect project to demonstrate everything that I've learned studying film at F&M: it gives me the opportunity to use everything I've learned about storycraft, directing, editing, and camerawork, on a concept that I tried to execute before my education. It allows me to create a tangible side-by-side comparison of where I was, and how far I've come.

I want to take this opportunity to clarify the following: Support Group for Fictional Characters (2023) is not a mere remake. The motivation behind this project is not simply to return to an old idea and do it all over again. Rather, I prefer to think of this version as a reimagining. After all, the motivation behind this film was to come back and do it all differently; hence, there are a lot of key changes between the original film and this one. In regards to characters, I've completely changed Chuck and Eve's stories-of-origin, as well as built out and developed the film's supporting cast. In regards to story, this iteration strives to build on the intended themes of the original in a more streamlined, dramatically interesting, and hopefully overall more effective manner.

I would like to thank everyone involved with this film and everyone who supported it, both in its original iteration and now in this version. When I started writing the first draft of the screenplay in Spring 2022, I knew that there would be a finished film eventually but I never could've pictured it as it has turned out, and I couldn't have done it without my incredible support system of family, friends, and educators.

I would also like to thank Franklin & Marshall College's Committee on Grants for making this film possible through funding from the Nissley Grant, as well as the Nolt Film Award.

I've learned a lot in my time as part of the Franklin & Marshall film department, including but not nearly limited to the fact that romantic comedies are in short supply amongst film students. While my peers are making incredible work in their genres, I hope my story about self-acceptance and learning not to go through life alone brings a smile to people's faces; I know it brings one to mine.