Georgia’s film industry continues to thrive, with a massive $2.6 billion spent on film and television production last year, according to data from the Georgia Film Office. Among the latest productions utilizing Georgia’s rich resources is the heartwarming family comedy, All Is Merry & Bright.
The film tells the story of Jessica, a mother striving to balance the demands of the holiday season and her attempts to be a “supermom.” This project is the brainchild of producer Shun Lee Fong, who selected Georgia locales like Stone Mountain, Decatur, and Tucker for the shoot. Fong highlights the local talent as a key reason for choosing the area.
“As we were looking at our various options for where we were going to shoot this, we kept coming back to Atlanta,” Fong stated. “It kept coming back. You know what? There’s all these people we know there.”
Fong also serves as the president and creative director of The Greenhouse Arts & Media, a nonprofit with bases in Los Angeles and Atlanta. He emphasized the collaborative nature of the film’s production, saying, “We were using a lot of the people from The Greenhouse community… and said let’s come together. Let’s make this beautiful film together, and we hope to do many more projects like that in the future.”
In total, the film provided employment for around 550 individuals, a contribution to the local economy that Fong takes seriously. “Which means we’re providing 550 jobs to people in this industry. We take that really seriously,” he remarked.
Though All Is Merry & Bright is an independent film, it currently has scheduled screenings in Athens for approximately one week. The possibility of additional showtimes depends on the initial reception. For further details, visit merryandbright.movie.
