Not every audition is about getting the role.

In this romantic comedy, an actor, who has experienced a recent loss, goes on the most bizarre audition of his life.

Director’s Vision

My name is Daryl Lathon. I am the director, editor and co-executive producer (with Sharon Cooper) of the award-winning romantic comedy The Seven Men of Hanukkah.

I approached Sharon Cooper, a playwright whose short plays have been produced and published internationally and asked her if I could read some of her short plays that we could consider adapting into a short film. We decided to produce together and Coopathon Productions was born. I knew we would have a pretty limited budget and The Seven Men of Hanukkah was the right choice because it’s a strong, funny, quirky script, and I had a vision in how to adapt it. Also, I knew the success would hinge on having a great team who could pull off a lot with a small budget—which we got with Don Downie (DP), Nick Moore (Sound Design and Composer) and Julia Bibao (Production Designer)–and two stellar actors. Sharon wrote the piece with Jenny Kirlin in mind and when Mike Houston auditioned, their chemistry was so perfect that Sharon rewrote the part to fit him.

We shot most of the film in two days and had to do some pickup shots on a third day. Mike and Jenny and I have all worked a lot in the theatre, and we had a few rehearsals before shooting.

The world premiere of The Seven Men of Hanukkah was in the “Black Bear Film Festival” in Milford, PA, U.S.A. The festival decided to screen us solo in order to have a discussion with Barbara McNamara of “Barbara McNamara Casting.” Barbara thought the casting was perfect. Mike Houston and Jenny Kirlin are both accomplished actors. Mike Houston (“the big fella” on social media) is known for his work as Officer Dixon in Orange is the New Black and Jenny Kirlin, who has been in national commercials, is also often cast as the “friend.” Jenny was recognized with a nomination by the Queens World Film Festival for her acting. This film was the first time either of them had played romantic leads.

The film screened over a dozen times around the country and was one of the winners in the “FreshFlix” competition at The Boston Jewish Film Festival.

The Seven Men of Hanukkah isn’t about Hanukkah or Seven Men but you’ll definitely understand the title when you watch it. We hope you’ll get as much delight from seeing it as we did from making it.