Engaging Father Christmas (broadcast as A Family for the Holidays in Canada, and as Winter Wedding in the UK) is a 2017 made-for-television Christmas romantic drama film directed by David Winning and starring Erin Krakow and Niall Matter. It is a sequel to the 2016 made-for-television film Finding Father Christmas. Both films are adaptations of the Father Christmas novels by Robin Jones Gunn. The film was produced by Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, and premiered on their network in the United States on November 12, 2017. It premiered in Canada on Super Channel on November 13, 2017 and on Sky Cinema in the UK on November 28, 2017.
Video Engaging Father Christmas
Plot
Miranda Chester (Erin Krakow) returns to the small town of Carlton Heath to reunite with her newly discovered family, as well as boyfriend Ian (Niall Matter). Whilst the Whitcomb's welcome her with open arms, matriarch Margaret (Wendie Malick), asks that Miranda keep the secret of her parentage between the family, in order to preserve the reputation of the late James Whitcomb. Embracing the traditional Christmas she never had as a child, alongside the prospect of a forth coming proposal from Ian, Miranda has hopes for a wonderful Christmas. However, the receipt of an anonymous text message, threatening to expose her secret to the whole town, puts everything she has yearned for so deeply, at risk.
Maps Engaging Father Christmas
Cast
- Erin Krakow as Miranda Chester
- Niall Matter as Ian McAndrick
- Wendie Malick as Margaret Whitcomb
- Andrew Francis as Josh
- P. Lynn Johnson as Katherine McAndrick
- Michael Kopsa as Andrew McAndrick
- Jim Thorburn as Edward Whitcomb
- Aliyah O'Brien as Ellie Whitcomb
- Callum Seagram Airlie as Mark Whitcomb
- Nevis Unipan as Julia Whitcomb
- Bethany Brown as Annie Jacobs
- Ben Wilkinson as Steve Decker
- Crystal Balint as Natalie Garrett
As with the first film, author Robin Jones Gunn again appears as an extra in theatre scenes.
Development
Following the success of the first film, star Niall Matter and author Robin Jones Gunn both confirmed in March 2017 that Hallmark were developing a sequel.
On May 9, 2017, Hallmark announced eight new Christmas movies, which included a sequel to Finding Father Christmas due to be broadcast on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries in the lead up to Christmas 2017.
Finding Father Christmas director Terry Ingram was originally approached to direct the sequel, but was unavailable, leading to director David Winning taking the helm.
Author Gunn confirmed that the film would further draw upon her novel "Engaging Father Christmas".
Production
Filming took place in June 2017, in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Broadcast
The film premiered in the United States on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channel, as a part of their "Most Wonderful Movies of Christmas" season, on November 12, 2017, shown as a double bill with a rerun of Finding Father Christmas. In Canada, the film was broadcast on Super Channel under the title "A Family for the Holidays", and premiered on November 13, 2017. It premiered in the UK on Sky Cinema on November 28, 2017 under the title Winter Wedding.
Reception
As with the first film, at the time of broadcast the film was the most watched premiere in Hallmark Movies & Mysteries history, with 1.84 million viewers.
Sequel
On Twitter, author Gunn commented on the possibility of a third installment in the series. This possibility was confirmed by director David Winning and actor Jim Thorburn in interviews given in November 2017.
Winning confirmed via Facebook he would be directing a third film in the series 2018. The film began filming in March 2018, and will be titled Marrying Father Christmas, again starring Krakow and Matter.
References
External links
- Official website
- Engaging Father Christmas on IMDb
Source of the article : Wikipedia