Crown Media Our Christmas Journey
Hallmark Movies & Mysteries’ new film, “Our Christmas Journey,” premieres on Saturday, December 4, at 10 p.m. Eastern. Encores will then air throughout the season. The movie stars Holly Robinson Peete, Lyriq Bent, Nik Sanchez, and Aloma Wright. Read on to learn all about where the movie was filmed and the cast involved.
‘Our Christmas Journey’ Was Filmed in Canada
“Our Christmas Journey” was filmed in British Columbia, Canada, including Vancouver, Abbotsford, and Mission regions. It was called “The Christmas Bond” while filming. Peete said the weather was flawless while filming.
When filming wrapped on October 9, Peete shared an Instagram post tagged in Vancouver. She wrote, “For years, I’ve wanted to make an inclusive Christmas film about a family impacted by #autism. Welp- We did THAT!! 🤎🙌🏾🙏🏾 I can’t wait for everybody to see this movie which airs December 4.”
During filming, she shared a series of photos that were tagged in Mission, British Columbia.
She wrote, “Oh nothing- just sleeping in a #LittleRedBarn tonight after wrap🐮❤️ 👩🏽🌾 💤 Shooting in #missionbritishcolumbia -a couple of hours outside Vancouver- for 2 days and decided to stay in a local barn, because … why not?”
She shared that they filmed some scenes at Zajac Ranch for Children. She shared a series of videos in the Instagram post below from behind-the-scenes at the ranch. Zajac Ranch hosts a fully inclusive camp for children with medical conditions and disabilities. It’s located in Vancouver.
Randy Pope, Senior Vice President, Programming & Development,” said about the movie: “Holly Robinson Peete is a tremendously talented actor and creative collaborator. We are excited and honored to help her bring this personal and beautiful story to life.”
The movie was filmed in late September and early October.
When Peete was on “Live with Kelly and Ryan,” she saw Nicole Kidman there too and said she was “fangirling” over getting to meet her.
Peete shared that when she first arrived in Canada before they started filming, she woke up to a 2 a.m. false fire alarm and had to walk down 35 flights of stairs and wait 40 minutes outside. One of the elevators was broken, so she had to walk 35 flights of stairs back too. “Finally got to our floor well after 3 AM. My take away was my cardio game is terrible,” she said.
Aloma Wright said the movie was an early Christmas gift.
Bent shared a photo while filming from the same location where Peete also had shared a photo.
Sanchez shared this photo of the Capilano Suspension Bridge from B.C. while filming.
He said he lost a game to his TV mom Peete.
Meet the Cast
The synopsis reads: “As a single mom and her teenaged son with autism come to a crossroad during Christmas, she must learn to let go so he can flourish as she finds her own heart healing in unexpected ways.”
Crown MediaOur Christmas Journey
Holly Robinson Peete is Lena. Her many credits include “Morning Show Mysteries” (Billie Blessings), “American Housewife” (Tami), “Christmas in Evergreen” series (Michelle Lansing), “Chicago Fire” (Tamara Jones), “Angel of Christmas,” “Michael Jackson: Searching for Neverland” (Raymone Baine), “Mike & Molly” (Christina), “Love, Inc.” (Clea), “Like Family” (Tanya), “For Your Love” (Malena), “One on One” (Stacy), “Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper” (Vanessa), “21 Jump Street” (Officer Judy Hoffs from 1987-1991), Hallmark’s reality series “Meet the Peetes,” the OWN reality series “For Peete’s Sake,” and more.
Peete has a son with autism in real life too, so this movie was extra special to her. In a statement, Peete said: “I am making this movie for my son RJ, others with autism and their families. I am grateful to Hallmark for bringing this story to screen with authenticity, respect and hope.”
Her son R.J. works as a clubhouse attendant for the Los Angeles Dodgers, which Holly said is his dream job. She recently shared on Twitter: “I’ll forever be indebted to @Dodgers for hiring him 6 seasons ago. This clubhouse attendant job gave him confidence, purpose & FRIENDS.”
Peete’s HollyRod Foundation advocates and supports people with autism and with Parkinson’s. She also co-wrote a book with her daughter, Ryan, called “My Brother Charlie.”
Crown MediaOur Christmas Journey
Lyriq Bent is Rick. His many credits include “An Ice Wine Christmas,” “Delilah” (Gordon), “For the Record,” “Carter” (Joyce), “The Affair,” “Astronaut,” “She’s Gotta Have It” (Jamie Overstreet), “The Man in the High Castle,” “Mary Kills People” (Frank), “Shoot the Messenger” (Kevin), “Rookie Blue” (Frank Best), “Sophie” (Andre), “Mother’s Day,” “Angela’s Eyes,” “Mutant X,” “Street Time,” and more. His performance in the miniseries, “The Book of Negroes,” earned him a Canadian Screen Award Nomination for Best Performance in a Dramatic Series in 2016.
Crown MediaOur Christmas Journey
Nik Sanchez is Marcus. Sanchez also has a lead role in Lifetime’s movie “Safe Space,” which is a thriller about a recently widowed mom and her 14-year old son with autism, Deadline reported. Sanchez also stars as Silas March on “The Rookie.”
Sanchez not only portrays a character with autism in the movie, but he is also on the autism spectrum himself, People reported. Peete wrote on Twitter about Sanchez’s role in the movie: “There was not one chance I was going to executive produce a film about #autism without proper representation.”
Crown MediaOur Christmas Journey
Hilda Martin is Maya. This is her first credit on IMDb.
Aloma Wright is Robin. Her credits include “Young Dylan” (Viola), “The Christmas Edition,” “Baking Christmas,” “Suits” (Gretchen), “The Guest Book” (Emma), “Claws,” “The Soul Man” (Shirley), “Days of Our Lives” (Maxine), “Private Practice” (Mildred), “More to Love,” “9ine” (Nana), “Scrubs” (Nurse Roberts), “Judging Amy,” “The Parkers,” “Power Rangers in Space” (Adelle), and more.
Also starring are:
- Caroline Cave (Beth)
- Graham Verchere (Henry)
- Lily Johannesson (Morgan)
- Miranda Edwards (Madelyn)
- Anthony Timpano (Misho)
- Matty Finochio (Jim)
- Anna Diaz (Ava)
- Kallie Hu (Emma)
- Wilson Won (Co -Worker)
- Laura Mac (Kayla)
READ NEXT: Hallmark’s Christmas 2021 Lineup of Movies
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