SMALL TOWN THEATERS SHOWING FLICK FILMED IN WALKER COUNTY
‘The Farmer and the Belle: Saving Santaland’ empowers girls, women
The producers of a faith-based movie filmed primarily in Walker County hope to create their own miracle, boosting ticket sales at small town theaters this holiday season.
“Miracles can happen with a little love, family and faith” is the message of the Christmas movie shown last November at the Walker County Civic Center. Three generations — kids age 3 through grandparents — can enjoy this funny and heartwarming film together as a holiday tradition, said Jenn Gotzon, who stars in and produced the film with her husband, Jim E. Chandler.
“We are so excited to make a new Christmas tradition together ... using ‘The Farmer and The Belle: Saving Santaland’ to usher in the spirit of Christmas this Sunday at the Canton theater,” Gotzon said, adding that the showings are an effort to help the Historic Canton Theatre in Canton, Ga., survive post-pandemic revenue losses.
A youth choir will sing Christmas songs with the community, and she hopes these efforts will inspire a new Christmas tradition for the town to usher in the holiday spirit with annual showings of the film.
“Tickers are going very fast, so
encourage everyone to come out and help save the local theater,” she urged.
The film is showing across the country this holiday season, and Christian Vogue Magazine will cover the showing this weekend in Roswell, Ga., she said.
In Murfreesboro, Tenn., Beckah Shae will perform before the show this Friday, Justin Peters on Saturday and Tiffany Ashton may perform Sunday; DeHoff Christian Bookstore will sell movie-related Christmas gifts
Friday and Saturday before and after showtimes.
“The Farmer and The Belle: Saving Santaland” follows a romance that sparks between a famous model and a farmer when she visits her childhood home, the model’s search to find a lost bracelet with special meaning to her, and the efforts to save the community’s beloved Santaland festival. The film’s message — truth of beauty is founded in relationship to God — have made the film stand out from other holiday fare.
Gotzon claims she was a fish out of water when she visited Chandler’s family farm when the couple dated; these experiences and her self-image journey as a professional model in China provided fodder for the story.
Much of the movie was filmed on McLemore Cove property Chandler’s family has owned since 1918.
In addition to Gotzon (“My Daddy is in Heaven”) and Chandler (“Stranger Things” and AMC’S “Lodge 49”), the film also stars Corbin Bernsen (“Major League”), John Schneider (“The Dukes of Hazzard”) and Natasha Bure (“Home Sweet Home” and “Fuller House”).
Gotzon and Chandler said their hope is to inspire inner beauty. As a gift for women and girls, they created the True Beauty Scorecard, a three-minute quiz to give quiz-takers insight on how connected they are to their true beauty and helpful tips for coping with image issues at https://truebeauty/scoreapp.com.