Father Christmas (film series)

Author Robin Jones Gunn, whose novels were adapted for the film series

Gunn's literary agent was approached in 2011[3] by a production company looking for Christmas novels to adapt into screenplays. Her agent suggested the novel "Finding Father Christmas". On pitching the story to Hallmark Movies & Mysteries in 2012, it was rejected due its lack of romance. Gunn's agent then made the suggestion to combine the first novel with parts of its sequel, "Engaging Father Christmas", as the latter novel featured a romantic plot for its main character. The two novels were reworked into a combined treatment, which was again pitched to the channel in 2013. It was again rejected, but with the possibility of reconsideration if further adaptations were made, in particular relocating the novel from England to North America. Following further adaptations, Hallmark approved the treatment of the novels in 2015, leading to the development of the screenplay.[1] Gunn went on to publish an ebook ("How My Book Became A Movie:A True Story") in 2016, detailing her experiences of the process, from the origins of the novel to the film's production.[1]

The first film differs significantly from the novel. The setting is moved from England to Vermont, the character of Ian is introduced much earlier in the story and several character names were changed.[1] A new introduction to the story was also written, to introduce important backstory.[3] However, author Robin Jones Gunn felt that "the heart of the story I'd written was still there".[1]

The second and third films diverged further from the original story, although author Gunn confirmed that the films still drew upon her novels.[4]

David Winning, who directed the second two films in the series

Following the success of the first film,[5] star Niall Matter and author Robin Jones Gunn both confirmed in March 2017 that Hallmark were developing a sequel.[6][7]

On May 9, 2017, Hallmark announced eight new Christmas movies, including a sequel to Finding Father Christmas entitled Engaging Father Christmas.[8] Finding Father Christmas director Terry Ingram was originally approached to direct the sequel, but was unavailable, leading to director David Winning taking the helm.[9] A third film in the series was confirmed by director David Winning[10] and actor Jim Thorburn[9] in interviews given in November 2017.

All three films were filmed in and around Vancouver, British Columbia. Filming for the first film took place in June 2016,[11] with some scenes shot in the city of Abbotsford, British Columbia.[12] The second film began production in June 2017[13][14] and the final installment was filmed in March 2018.[15]