Residents lend their livestock for film on the Nativity
Camels, horses, sheep and more are featured alongside iconic sites in Ramona, Calif.
A film based on the Nativity, produced by a company in Ramona, Calif., features livestock from all over town and some iconic locations.
Movies centered on the Nativity, the birth of Jesus Christ, typically feature animals, and this production was no exception.
The creatures in “Why the Nativity?” — the brainchild of the Rev. David Jeremiah, senior pastor of Shadow Mountain Community Church in El Cajon — were brought together by Gem Canyon Productions in Ramona, owned by Larry and Racine Poole.
Although the Pooles own many of the animals that were featured in the film, camels came from Oasis Camel Dairy, a donkey came from Hearts & Hands Animal Rescue, and other animals were lent by private residents.
“It was a great shoot, and it looked like we had gone back in time,” said Larry Poole.
The film was produced by Turning Point, part of the broadcast ministry of the church. Shooting began in April and was completed in July.
The human cast numbered more than 120, as well as 220 background extras. There were 320 crew members and more than 40 live animals. It was the largest production to take place in San Diego County since James Cameron’s “Titanic,” according to Turning Point.
In all, 10 locations were used for the film.
The Mount Woodson castle served as the interior of Mary’s home, as well as the interior for the Old Testament prophet scene and Julius Caesar’s palace.
Mary and Joseph’s courtship was filmed at the Hidden Oaks wedding venue in Ramona.
The Pooles said that being part of the film was an unexpected gift. Larry Poole was originally asked to be an actor in the production but had to turn down the part.
“I couldn’t work on the film as an actor, because as a member of the Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, it was a nonunion role,” said Poole, who has appeared in “Shooting Star” (2022), “Last Shoot Out” (2021) and “A Soldier’s Revenge” (2020), among other films.
Then Poole was asked to take on the position of head wrangler. So in addition to being in charge of the animals, Poole and Gem Canyon — which supplies livestock for movies — coordinated with owners or supplied the horses, camels, goats, sheep, pigeons, chickens and cow used in the film.
“Larry and Racine came in and were able to pull all the various animals under one umbrella and manage the whole process for us from start to finish,” said Shannon Mann, special projects manager for Turning Point. “This not only streamlined the preproduction process, but it made the filming process easier, as we knew they had all the animals taken care of, they knew the animals and trusted them, and they had all the animals in place as needed.”
The Pooles’ role in the film was one of the “nuggets from above” mentioned by several people involved in the production, referring to unplanned or unexpected events that led to positive outcomes.
Another example was the sheep, according to Racine Poole.
“We went out and bought some sheep just to do the movie. We were looking for sheep that would look authentic to the times,” she said.
Not only did they find an 80-year-old man willing to sell his flock, but the sheep turned out to be a breed that originated in Nazareth, she said.
The flock, which was “pretty wild” when purchased, tamed down in just a couple of weeks, Poole said.
“We were filming their scenes near Thousand Oaks, near the Santa Monica mountains, and there were no fences,” she recalled. “For the shot, a Roman rider comes racing in, and the sheep scatter. By the third take, the sheep automatically went back to their starting position.”
One sheep gave birth in the middle of filming. The lamb made it into the film, carried around by a young shepherdess.
Poole said she fell in love with the sheep and plans to keep them.
Bella, an Angus/Holstein cow who lives with the Pooles, was also purchased for the production. Like many of the animals, she required special training long before she appeared on camera.
“We got her at 6 months old, and we did a lot of work with her so she would be gentle and used to things,” Poole said.
In her big scene, Bella is munching on hay when a young boy runs into the stable and hides by jumping into the hay.
Bella never flinched for her debut, despite all the activity happening around her, Poole said.
As one might expect for a film about Bethlehem, numerous donkeys were involved.
One of those was Whisper, who belongs to Nancy Nunke of Hearts & Hands Animal Rescue in Ramona.
“She was really good around the kids and the cameras and took it all in stride,” Poole said.
Whisper enjoyed several close-ups in the film and was ridden by Rose Anaya, the actress portraying Mary.
Goats were abundant at the time of the film’s setting, and more than 18 were used. Pigeons, chickens and horses can also be seen.
Working with animals on set requires more than just filming — a lot of manual labor is involved.
“We’re not afraid of work, and it is nothing but work on a set,” Larry Poole said. “For a while, we had a 7 a.m. schedule of nine-hour days. The animals needed to be fed, loaded for travel and kept clean. It makes for long, long days with a lot of heavy things needing to be moved.”
Gil and Nancy Riegler, owners of Oasis Camel Dairy, who supplied animals, agreed.
Describing the shoot as “a magical, beautiful experience,” Nancy Riegler said many days on set were hot and difficult.
“It was 100-degree days, and things still had to look great. The actors had to stay cooled off, and the animals needed to be kept comfortable,” she said of the six-daya-week schedule.
Being part of the film involved “the stars lining up for us,” the Rieglers said.
“For our camels to be included, it really was a Christmas miracle,” Nancy Riegler said. “Because of COVID, we weren’t doing our normal fairs in June, and the bulk of the filming days were in June.”
The couple had previously showcased their camels at Shadow Mountain Church in El Cajon as part of its annual living Nativity.
“Every year we would bring Camelot, a donkey and some sheep,” Riegler said. “They film it, and the worship goes out worldwide. They have millions of viewers.”
The Rieglers were first contacted about “Why the Nativity?” three years ago.
“At that time, it was going to be a medium-size project. They were on our property quite a bit, scouting out locations and animals,” Nancy Riegler recalled.
Not only were the Rieglers available with their camels, but the weekend before the first day of filming they had scheduled a camel training camp.
“For three days, we had 20 people handling all our trained camels,” Riegler said. “Even though the camels could immediately see the people didn’t know what they were doing, by the end of the weekend, they could walk the camels anywhere. It set us up so well for the film shoot.”
The Rieglers provided seven camels per scene, though only six were used, Gil Riegler said.
The couple also took care to give their camels many looks, so even if the same animal appears in multiple scenes, the audience believes it is seeing more than one.
While Nancy Riegler said she was careful to stay out of shots, her husband was featured in several.
“When the different wise men come together and proceed through Bethlehem, Gil was leading Jamal; they both look so correct and phenomenal in this movie,” she said.
Shooting scenes in the desert with the camels was a highlight of the production for the Rieglers.
“Our camels have never been to the desert, so taking them out to Glamis for the shoot was a big deal,” Gil Riegler said. “We took time to let them play in the sand before we got them dressed up for their shots. They loved it. It was so much fun.”