What are the Holidays without Film?
The holiday season. A time for getting together with family and friends to celebrate the end of a year and the start of a new one, all while rejoicing over music, food, libations, and films. My personal favorite holiday-season film is The Santa Clause with Tim Allen. I grew up watching Christmas Vacation with my family every year. My mom and I gather around the TV every year to laugh and cry at one of our favorite rom-coms, The Holiday. My brother and his wife always put their replica “leg-lamp” from A Christmas Story right next to the front door, so it’s the first thing you see when you walk in. When I go to a mall and see Santa taking pictures with all the kiddos, I can’t help but say to myself, “SANTA! I KNOW HIM!” in the way Will Ferrell so perfectly executes in Elf. And what is the holiday season without the timeless debate: is Die Hard a Christmas Movie?
The point is: can you even begin to imagine this time of year without film? Think of all of the memories and quotes and inside jokes with your friends that you would have otherwise missed out on. Even when your family says “You’ll shoot your eye out!” for the twentieth time since you’ve been home, you still feel a bit of love and nostalgia for it all. You can’t imagine your holiday season without these moments.
I have enjoyed working with Local Cinema Studios because I can see the behind-the-scenes work that gets put into making films, and how important this work truly is. Filmmaking is the ability to create work that has the potential to make an everlasting impact on generations and generations of audiences. It is a chance to build something that is bigger than yourself. It is a chance for you to step back and see the benefits of your creation through the joy you can bring to others. Especially with holiday films, can you imagine being a PA on the set of Christmas Vacation during the scene when the house’s lights get turned on? It must’ve been an incredible experience to be working on something so fresh and new at the time, only to have your work become a staple to households for years to come.
The holiday season is the perfect chance to reflect on the impact of film on our lives, especially with those we love. Film is an irreplaceable part of our lives.
So sit back, grab a cup of hot chocolate and your comfiest pair of fuzzy socks, and go turn on your favorite holiday movie! You’ve earned it.
From all of us at Local Cinema Studios, happy holidays!