Sartaj Singh
A Hallmark movie about a life-changing and jubilant Hanukkah is in the works! The Cinemaholic has discovered that the network has ordered the television film ‘Hanukkah on the Rocks.’ The project’s filming will take place in Winnipeg, Manitoba, between September 9 and September 29. Sean Garrity is directing the TV movie based on a screenplay by Julie Sherman Wolfe. The film’s cast has not yet been finalized.
The story revolves around Tory, a corporate lawyer in Chicago who finds herself out of work one week before Hanukkah. With some time to ponder how far she has come after working so hard, she realizes that her interest is not in the career she has been building. She refrains from sharing these thoughts with her family, as they are exceedingly proud of her, and she worries they may disapprove of her desire to leave legal work behind. She spends her days helping her grandmother prepare for Hanukkah and embarks on a quest to find good candles in the city. Her journey leads her to an old bar called Rocky’s, where she and a handsome doctor fight over the last box of candles. The medical practitioner is Jay, who has come from Florida to spend time with his grandfather, Sam, a long-time patron of the bar. Jay hopes to bring Sam back to Florida with him, where their loved ones worry about the old man.
The narrative progresses through the small community of loved ones Sam has formed at Rocky’s. The members include an accountant with dreams of writing a great novel, a gourmet chef working as a cook, and a waitress chasing her dreams of acting. As she learns about the group, Tory begins to warm up to them, finding Sam to be the grandfather she never had. When the bar is in a pinch with the approaching holidays, she helps out by bartending and contributing ideas for its renovation. As Hanukkah approaches, Tory and Jay feel a romantic spark between them as they turn Rocky’s into a wildly popular pop-up bar named Hanukkah on the Rocks. Finding an inspiring and supportive group of individuals and possibly the love of her life, Tory must decide whether to return to her old life or embrace the new one.
Garrity is an experienced filmmaker who has made several comedic and steamy films, including ‘An Awkward Sexual Adventure,’ ‘The Burning Season,’ ‘After the Ball,’ ‘I Propose We Never See Each Other Again After Tonight,’ and ‘The End of Sex.’ His more dramatic and mysterious credits include ‘Borealis,’ ‘Lucid,’ ‘Blood Pressure,’ and ‘Zooey & Adam.’
Winnipeg is a popular filming location for Hallmark movies, and the city often stands in for other regions in the projects. Several holiday movies have been shot in and around Winnipeg, including ‘Journey Back to Christmas,’ ‘Home Alone: The Holiday Heist,’ ‘A Christmas in Tennessee,’ ‘A Dream of Christmas,’ ‘On the 12th Date of Christmas,’ and ‘A Christmas Mission.’
Read More: Hallmark Orders Trading Up Christmas; Starts Filming in Hamilton
