Documentary Highlights Morristown Businesses' Pandemic Struggles

MORRISTOWN, NJ — At first, the pandemic took StrixMedia away from their work. The Morristown video-production company spent the early part of lockdown at home, making podcasts, offering free consulting to companies looking to pivot and, like many, feeling fearful.

"I remember leaving our boxes outside for three days to make sure that whatever had been delivered didn’t have COVID on it," said creative director Dan Gianfrancesco. "You kind of think back and ask, was that ridiculous, or was it smart?"

It turns out that there's very little risk in catching COVID-19 from a package, according to the World Health Organization. But as the public-health crisis persisted, so did another issue: how would local small businesses endure the pandemic?

StrixMedia highlights the journeys of 15 Morristown businesses in the documentary, "Closed Until Further Notice," which premiers at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 28 at the Mayo Performing Arts Center. A GoFundMe will help StrixMedia push the message through advertising and public relations.

StrixMedia has spent much of the last year highlighting struggling businesses, but they also faced pandemic challenges of their own. They found ways to pivot though. The company performed some of their graphic design and animation services remotely to continue producing videos. And they also conducted livestreams for events.

Meanwhile, a small group brought forward the idea of creating short videos to spotlight local businesses. Gianfrancesco and digital strategist Zack Ryan thought the short videos might fizzle quickly after they were released. So the idea evolved into a docuseries, which they thought might make more of an impression.

"A lot of people think that it’s just a logo, or everyone’s so quick to write a negative review about a business," Gianfrancesco said. "They don’t realize that for almost every business, it’s their absolute livelihood."

Morristown became somewhat of a "case study" to show how a community and its local businesses could come together to survive the pandemic.

One example they point to is the Morristown Stimulus Plan — a Facebook group that focuses on supporting local small businesses.

"(Creator Jeff Haag) posted a picture of sushi, and everyone ordered sushi," Gianfrancesco said. "He posted that Beenie’s Ice Cream opened back up, and everyone ordered from Beenie’s."

The documentary project began in November, with filming taking place in the first half of this year. Each episode — 15 in total — required two shoot days with a three-four person crew. In total, each episode took about 30 hours to complete.

StrixMedia never previously created a documentary, but global pandemics can bring different elements out of people. In Morristown's case, the pandemic drew out their capacity to help each other.

"It just showed that if Morristown can do it, then other towns across the nation can also adopt this movement," Ryan said. "Small business is the heart and soul of the community. And without them, the town could die."

Get tickets for the documentary screening.

Thanks for reading. Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site. Have a news tip? Email josh.bakan@patch.com. Subscribe to your local Patch newsletter and follow the Morristown Patch Facebook page.