A movie filmed in East Aurora earlier this year will premiere on the Great American Family (GFA) channel at 8 p.m. tonight, Sunday, Dec. 22.
The film, “A Royal Christmas Ballet”, tells the story of a retired ballerina who is pressed into service working with a visiting team of royal ambassadors to put on the season’s performance of “The Nutcracker” – only to find herself center stage in an unexpected Christmas romance.
The film stars Brittany Underwood, known for her decade-long run on the soap opera, “One Life to Live,” and Jonathan Stoddard. The two actors also starred in another locally filmed movie, “A Royal Christmas Holiday”, which premiered last year. Both films were written and directed by Fred Olen Ray.
“A Royal Christmas Ballet” marks Ray’s seventh film shot in Buffalo.
“A Royal Christmas Ballet” will also feature a cameo from Tonawanda High School sophomore Allyson Kaeselau – who will appear in the film as a dancer. The movie’s creators had reportedly reached out to Kaeselau’s dance company, the Royal Academy of Ballet & Dance in Buffalo, to provide dancers for a group dance scene.
Evergreen Hills Christmas Tree Farm in Holland will also be featured.
Owned by Bill Abbott, former CEO of the Hallmark Channel’s parent company, Crown Media Family Networks, GFA is positioned as a family-oriented channel with original series and movies reflecting, “American culture, lifestyle and heritage”, and emphasizing “relationships and the emotional connections related to holidays, seasons and occasions”.
In 2022, GFA channel notably added “Full House” actress Candace Cameron Bure as their Chief Creative Officer and has since signed multi-picture deals with several former Hallmark actors including Danica McKellar of “The Wonder Years”, actor and television host Mario Lopez and Lori Loughlin – who starred alongside Bure in “Full House” and its spin-off “Fuller House”.
GFA is available through several cable providers as well as through several streaming services, including Hulu and Sling TV.
Encore presentations are slated for 8 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 24 and 6 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 25.
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