Christmas season is upon us and it is time to enjoy being cozy on the couch with some hot chocolate and a good Christmas movie. This is the season of Black actors entering the holiday movie scene on networks like BET, OWN, TV One, and Bounce. If you haven’t already, it’s time to tune into the new Christmas story of, “Who Is Christmas Eve?,” starring Paige Audrey-Marie Hurd as Eve.
The Bounce original holiday movie is centered around the emotional search for Eve Simons birth parents – which premiered during National Adoption Month in November. Eve is helped and supported by her boyfriend Chris, played by Romeo Miller and famed investigative genealogist Pamela Slaton (Juliana Harkavy).
JaGurl TV spoke with the cast during a virtual interview hosted by comedian Loni Love. “It was an alignment of the stars,” Slaton said in regards to why they decided to get this movie off the ground. Juliana Harkavy, who worked closely with Ms. Slaton believed that she did have a lot of personal similarities to the character. “The more I got to know Pam in real life, the more that I felt we were kindred spirits.” Both ladies relate on the fact that they are normally shy and reserved but put themselves out there in such a big was to serve others. “This desire to help people and to help people understand themselves really is something I think as an actor I do in my own way and Pam does in a much greater, grander way.”
The movie is personable and inspiring as it is inspired by some of the true life events of the real life Pamela Slaton who executive produced this film. “It actually has bits and pieces of some of the cases I’ve done in the past. Its [primarily based] the grandchild of our amazing writer Elyse Endick.” Slaton tells JaGurl TV.
According to the press release, the real-life Slaton is the country’s foremost expert in reuniting adoptees with their birth parents. An adoptee herself, Slaton’s challenging personal experience with her own birth mother motivated Slaton to make helping other adoptees her life’s work. Over the course of her career to date, Slaton has reunited thousands of adoptees with their families including rapper Darryl McDaniels of RUN-DMC fame, who makes a cameo appearance as himself in “Who Is Christmas Eve?” As part of the Emmy-Award-winning documentary, “DMC: My Adoption Journey,” she reunited McDaniels with his birth mother. Slaton’s real work has been showcased extensively in television, print media’s and now a movie.
“In the movie Christmas Eve you’re going to learn that everybody has their own journey. Even if you want the best for somebody you gotta let them kind of go through their journey, and their ups and downs and go through everything they’re supposed to go through,” was beautifully said by Romeo Miller.
Watch the full trailer below:
