‘Tis the season for holiday films, and A Holiday Chance is a great one!
We’ll be cheesy about it and suggest you take a chance on this holiday-themed movie full of family, heart, soul, and even some sexiness. It’s good vibes only with this one adding some flavor to the genre.
TV Fanatic caught up with the cast of the film via Zoom to get all the details, and if you want to get a headstart on your holiday movies or need something to dive into while preparing for or recovering from Turkey Day, then we recommend A Holiday Chance!
Black Lightning beauty and talent Nafessa Williams came up with this story as she teams up with producers Manny Halley, Rodney Turner II and Yolanda Halley, director Jamal Hill, and Faith Media Distribution as she dips her foot into the genre.
She also stars as Noel Chance, the Type-A, driven, business-oriented youngest daughter of Richard Lawson’s Garvin Chance.
Garvin Chance is the founder and head of a multi-million dollar media company that has the entire family embodying Black Excellence.
Noel is as passionate about the family business as her father. But her older sister Naomi, Supergirl’s Sharon Leal, doesn’t feel the same way.
And is the case with two very different sisters, the two share one of the most amusing sibling rivalries, which rears its ugly head often when the family faces a series of challenges and tragedies.
Of course, these two sisters must find a way to get along and work together, setting years of competition and bickering aside to turn their family company around and keep the family itself intact.
You can’t have a holiday film without a solid familial storyline. But if romance is more your thing, then you will not be disappointed with the hints of it, thanks to Williams’ Noel and Tobias Truvillion’s Keith, who have great chemistry.
But at the heart of the love story is that between the two sisters. It’s something that TV Fanatic discussed via Zoom with star Nafessa Williams.
The two sisters butt heads often, and Noel is a character who certainly comes off strong.
“Noel is very ambitious .. she doesn’t like to hear ‘no’. However, she’s a lover, no matter the challenge and sibling rivalry that you see with her sister, at the end of the day, when her sister needs her, she pulls up and shows up, and it’s beautiful.”
And for these two sisters, sometimes support means pulling out the trusty baseball bat and making sure that everyone knows the cardinal rule of siblinghood: “No one messes with my sibling, but me.”
It’s a standout scene in the film that is equal parts hilarious and relatable, and it’s no wonder that it’s one of Williams and Leal’s favorites.
It’s those little moments of heart, and soul, and authenticity that make the film a standout. Williams asserts that it’ll be everyone’s favorite holiday film.
Her excitement about the film’s debut is infectious.
When asked about what she wanted to jump into the holiday movie trend, Williams shares, “I love holiday films. I love sitting on the couch and having some good food to eat up, and they bring up the most beautiful memories, and I didn’t want to wait for someone to create it for me, so I got with my friends, and I told them the idea, and here we are.”
With holiday films becoming all the rage, Williams shared what distinguishes A Holiday Chance from many others.
“It’s really for us and made by us, and it’s showcasing us in a beautiful way — a Black wealthy family and father who took a risk and set up a beautiful legacy for his family. I think it’s important for our people and our culture to see us in that light and see that we are more than the stories that are told about us.”
Lawson agreed with his costar about the importance of representation in the genre.
This one is particularly special because it’s about us, and it’s a well-done film with a great story, great cast, and producer, and it’s a Black thing, and it’s a beautiful thing, and it’s a good thing.”
Lawson and Williams worked closely as Noel Chance had a very special bond with her father within the film.
When describing the closeness between the father/daughter duo, Lawson states, “Energy is when people vibrate on the same plane, that’s when you get harmony, and when things don’t vibrate well you get discord, disharmony, he loved the harmony with her.”
Harmony translates to the entire cast, including Amin Joseph, Vanessa Bell Calloway, and Wu-Tang: An American Saga‘s Johnell Young.
Young’s character was a bit of a humorous scene-stealer, and we asked him about his experience on set with the rest of the cast.
“Every project I’ve been blessed to be on, the cast has been stellar and nothing but legends, so it’s inspiring and fun. It doesn’t even feel like work. I’m still waiting to go to work. I wonder if there is going to be a project where I ever have to go to work because so far, it’s been fun and a great learning experience.”
The fun vibes behind the scenes certainly translate onscreen as A Holiday Chance angles to become a modern Christmas classic. It’s a goal that everyone strived for, and the final product supports that.
A Holiday Chance is in select theaters Wednesday, November 24.
Until then, watch the trailer to the film here, and check out our full exclusive interview with Nafessa Williams, Richard Lawson, and Johnell Young below!
Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.