Lifetime movie actress Jana Kramer walks out of the Bayou Teche Museum on August 16, 2019. Lee Ball Photography

The temperatures were in the low 90’s with heat indexes often at or above 100 degrees when actors were in winter attire for the making of a new movie that finished filming in downtown New Iberia in late August. The Christmas-themed film produced by Active Entertainment for the Lifetime channel will air in the fall.

Producer Daniel Lewis was first intrigued by New Iberia after attending the wedding reception of a friend at (then) Clementine’s 10 years ago. Lewis says New Iberia’s main street and moss-covered trees along Bayou Teche made it a stand out as a location for a movie. “I also remembered the people from New Iberia as being welcoming and proud. In the back of my mind, I always said that if I had a project that would make sense for the city, I would try and bring it here.”

Sugar Cane for Christmas

New Iberia will represent itself in this movie set in a city by the same name. Emily Moss-Wilson directed the multi-generational love story that brings the lead actress back home for the 50th anniversary of the Christmas Sugar Cane Festival, which is centered on the announcement of Mr. & Mrs. Christmas. As the story develops, former festival winners return to New Iberia to celebrate the anniversary and some old relationships are rekindled.

The movie’s lead actors star country music singer Jana Kramer, who also appeared on “One Tree Hill” and Percy Daggs III, from the “Veronica Mars” TV series. Barry Bostwick, “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” is also in the cast.

Lewis who lives in Madisonville, La. says he “loves” shooting in Acadiana, having produced two Christmas movies in the area last summer: “Christmas Contract” filmed in Lafayette and “Hometown Christmas” set in Youngsville.

Famous Friends

Interesting to note that the movie’s key crewmembers and editorial staff are from Acadiana. Director of photography Matt Bell is a UL graduate, as is Editor Misty Talley. Andrew Morgan Smith, who lives in Youngsville, composed the music and has written scores for many films.

Viewers may be able to pick out friends who are “extras” in scenes of the boat parade, a street dance, or the Christmas Sugar Cane Festival, all contained to downtown New Iberia and along Bayou Teche. Residents will also recognize local businesses, by their actual names. (Active Entertainment has shot six previous movies where the actual names of the towns and businesses remained the same.)

Lewis says Lifetime movies most often air four to six times a year after the premiere, for as long as seven years; this one will also air outside of the United States. The release of the movie is scheduled sometime between October 25 and Christmas.

The (Christmas) gift that keeps on Giving

“This will be a nice tourism promotion for the town,” Lewis says. “After movies are shot, they are shown to have a positive impact on the town when they air; tourists want to see the places featured in the movies.”

Fran Thibodeaux, Executive Director of Iberia Travel can attest to the tourism pull of a movie or book’s fan base, pointing out that fans of author James Lee Burke continue to visit New Iberia, from across the country, because he once lived there. “More immediately, the movie has built a lot of community spirit and given us a spotlight at a time during the summer when tourism is normally slow. We couldn’t buy the kind of public relations or advertising that the movie has brought to our city,” Thibodeaux says.

In terms of the economic boost to the community, Lewis says 30 to 35 of the crew plus cast members stayed in New Iberia hotels, ate at restaurants – even local catering was used on the set.

The ripple affect goes beyond that. According to Iberia Industrial Development Foundation President and CEO Mike Tarantino, the industry rule of thumb in estimating the economic impact of a movie’s production to an area is to expect five to seven times the initial production investment.

Lewis credits the cooperation of the community and the foresight of Mayor Freddie DeCourt for having made the movie possible and “flow smoothly.”

“This is the kind of movie you can watch with your kids, grandparents and leave the TV on. I love making these kinds of movies; they end with a positive message and leave you with good feelings. As repetitive as they may be, they remind you that no matter what your struggles, you have people who love you and take care of you – especially at the holiday time. I’m happy to be a part of showing off New Iberia to the world in a positive light,” Lewis says.