4 NOVEMBER 26, 2020 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Queens native’s original Netfl ix Christmas
movie fi lmed in Middle Village, Woodhaven
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
AACEVEDO@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
On the surface, “A New York Christmas Wedding,”
may seem like your classic Hallmark
Christmas movie — it begins with some shots
of pre-COVID-19 Manhattan, a voice over about love
and Christmas bells — but the story is a bit more
nuanced, and it’s not just because it takes place in
Queens.
“So let me take you out to Queens, ’cause this
one’s personal, and it happens to be my favorite,”
are some of the words that introduce the story,
later cutting to a formative moment in the life of
the protagonist, Jennifer (young version played
by Camilla Harden) where she fails to tell her
best friend, Gabrielle (young version played
by Natasha Goodman), her true feelings for her.
We’re then introduced to present-day Jennifer
(Nia Fairweather) who is struggling to find herself
in Manhattan and is engaged to the well-off and
kind David (played by Otoja Abit).
But when Jennifer gets a visit from an angel, he
helps her see what life could have been like back
in Queens with her first love.
Abit, who directed, wrote and acted in “A New
York Christmas Wedding,” said he wasn’t looking
to write a movie to represent the LGBTQ community,
he just wanted to write about love and
acceptance.
The story and filmmaking process was personal
to him, which explains his subtle yet intentional
homages to Queens (in one scene, Abit’s character
points out how it only takes about 30 minutes to
cross the bridge from Manhattan to get there) as
well as certain aspects of his upbringing, such as
Catholicism.
“Coming from an immigrant home, you see the
world for what it is,” said Abit. “Being Catholic, I’m
always amazed how people tell me they stepped
away from church because they felt welcomed
but not equal. I haven’t personally had that experience,
but I thought, ‘what would it feel like to
have church turn your back on you, what would
it feel like to have your family turn their back on
you?'”
Abit is the son of Nigerian immigrants, and grew
up in Briarwood. He attended Archbishop Molloy
High School and St. John’s University, where he
played division one basketball and earned degrees
in Communications, Theatre Studies and
a Business minor.
“It’s kind of a homecoming,” said Abit, who now
lives in Manhattan. “Queens is such a melting pot,
but when I moved to Manhattan, people weren’t
aware about how important it is. People come form
everywhere to get to Manhattan. And a boy from
Queens moving to Manhattan is a big thing.”
Abit said they shot most of the movie in Middle
Village, on Queens Boulevard and in Woodhaven,
in addition to filming some scenes at St. John’s
University’s Jamaica campus.
“You gotta bring what you know,” he said. “For
me, there’s no better way to show a middle class
family living well. You didn’t feel bad for them,
they just lived normal lives, and there’s this sense
of home and community.”
“A New York in Christmas” marks Abit’s first feature
film. After writing, directing and starring in
his well received short film, “Jitters,” in 2018, Conglomerate
Media decided to take a risk on him and
his production company, Wilful Productions.
Abit was joined by Chris Noth, who many may
remember as Big from the widely popular “Sex
and the City” series, in both of his films. Noth not
only executive produced “A New York Christmas
Wedding,” he also played a priest trying to bridge
traditions and modern-day life.
“If anything is set in New York City you have to
have Chris Noth,” Abit laughed, adding that they
first met while working on a Broadway play. “He
became a big brother to me.”
Abit acknowledges his LGBTQ storyline already
helps the movie standout in the Christmas movie
genre, as very few movies portray same-sex marriage
or couples, but it also serves as a model for
what a diverse cast can look like.
“We grew up watching a lot of Hallmark and
other Christmas movies, and we never saw ourselves
in them,” said Abit. “When they said to make
a Christmas film, you can get caught up and enjoy
looking at love during Christmas and the good
feelings, and we wanted to go in that direction but
we wanted to make something more interesting.
We get films like this when more people can tell
their stories. We’re not going to wait for Hollywood
to do it, we’re doing it ourselves.”
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