EXCLUSIVE: Ashley Newbrough (Operation Nutcracker, Love For Christmas) and Chad Rook (Joe Pickett, Virgin River) are starring in holiday film A Dickens of a Christmas, which is launching in Cannes at MIPCOM.
Production has completed on the film, which comes from Castle Mountain Entertainment, Messina Captor Films Inc. and Enchanté Productions in association with Polyscope Productions in Alberta, Canada.
It follows Zara (Newbrough), a busy lawyer burdened by painful Christmas memories and lacking time for romance. Her best friend Chloe (Kaya Coleman) persuades her to attend a Victorian Dickens Christmas dinner at a historic home, where she meets Rafe (Rook), a single dad and hockey coach with a passion for renovating old houses. The historic home, however, harbors the ghost of Rafe’s ancestor, Aubrey (Mark Bellamy), who takes it upon himself to play matchmaker between Zara and Rafe, providing Zara with a magical book of Dickensian love stories that challenges her skepticism.
Catherine Friday is the writer and Gillian McKercher the director. Exec producers are Roxanne Messina Captor, Catherine Fridey, Jason Wan Lim, and Michael Walker. The distribution arm of Ireland’s Tarf Media is launching sales at MIPCOM Cannes later this month, with Messina Captor handling the U.S. rights.
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Castle Mountain is known for films such as The Events at Unity Farm, Blood Mountain and Adventures of a Pizza Guy and TV shows including Back Road Museums, Family Food Face Off and Celebrity Wineries and Spirits. Messina Captor has exec produced Hallmark programs such as Dream Moms and A Clean Kill for Lifetime. She also wrote and directed indie comedy series The Salon. Enchanté Productions is Fridey’s production company and has been the vehicle for her to co-write the likes of Enchanted Christmas, an early Lifetime Christmas film to feature Latino leads. Fridey he also created animated TV series Time Travel Team.
Newbrough is represented by The Characters Talent Agency, Artists First and by Yorn, Levine, Barnes, Krintzman, Rubenstein, Kohner, Endlich, Goodell & Gellman. Rook is repped by Vault Entertainment, Webster Talent Management and Level Up Entertainment.