Rhiannon Bannenberg’s Mistletoe Ranch stars Mercy Cornwall as Aimée Tremblay, a budding professional photographer who follows her boss, renowned photographer Gustav, around the world.
When Aimée receives a mailbag full of letters informing her that her late mother’s adored annual Christmas celebration has been cancelled, she returns to Mistletoe Ranch, left to her by her cherished mother, to find out why the party is no longer going ahead.
After her mother’s passing, Aimée left her family home and her heartbroken ex-fiancé, James Hunt (Jordi Webber), on Christmas Eve and hasn’t returned for seven years. The now quiet ranch, which she discovers is encountering financial difficulties, has been left in the hands of James, who lives there with his young daughter, Juniper (Molly Wright), and retired caretaker Charlie (Charles Allen). At first, James doesn’t welcome Aimée’s arrival, but it’s not long before sparks begin to fly again between the high-school sweethearts.
The cast also includes Andrea Moor and Kimberley Joseph (Lost). The film was shot across Brisbane and the Gold Coast hinterland in early 2022.
Mistletoe Ranch is a Steve Jaggi Company production written by Claire Harris and produced by Steve Jaggi, with Kylie Pascoe and Kelly Son Hing co-producing. Executive producers are James Huntsman, Lisa Gutberlet, Stephanie Slack, Janine Pearce, Lionel Hicks, Phil Hunt, and Compton Ross. The film was financed with the assistance of Empire Media Global, HeadGear, and Asia Pacific Film Investment Group, with support from the Queensland Government through Screen Queensland’s Screen Finance program.
Mistletoe Ranch will screen in select cinemas across Australia this November via Athabasca Film.