# Merry Xmas (film)

Merry Xmas is a 2015 American short film directed by Boman Modine and produced by Cinco Dedos Peliculas LLC. The comedic film had its world premiere at the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival in New York City. In June, the short won the Best "Pilot" Award at the 2015 New Media Film Festival in Los Angeles. During Michael Moore's Traverse City Film Festival, the film screened before a work-in-progress cut of Jen Senko's political documentary, The Brainwashing of My Dad, also produced by Matthew Modine and Adam Rackoff. On August 1, 2015, director Boman Modine and co-producer Adam Rackoff were invited to participate in the "After the Credits" interview series where they discussed the process of casting, shooting, and directing Merry Xmas.
On December 11, 2015, it was announced that Merry Xmas closed a deal with Shorts International, the parent company of ShortsHD, to release the film on a variety of digital EST platforms including iTunes Movies, Google Play, Amazon Video, and Verizon. During Christmas week, Merry Xmas was featured on the iTunes Short Films page and landed in the top ten sales chart. Of the top ten films, Merry Xmas was the only live-action film and the only short not produced by Disney or DreamWorks.

## Story

Merry Xmas tells the story of a mischievous father (Dick Van Dyke) who calls his very busy kids (Matthew Modine and Glenne Headly) to tell them that after 55 years of marriage, he and their mom (Valerie Harper) are getting divorced. Horrified by the news, the children prepare to fly home to stop the divorce and save their parent's marriage. It is revealed at the end that the father lied to get the kids to visit on Christmas and pay their own money to travel over. Both he and his wife dance during the credits

## Film festivals

| Festival | Status | Screening Dates | Awards/Accolades | Filmmakers In Attendance |
| Tribeca Film Festival | World Premiere | April 19, 20, 23, and 24, 2015 | Selected to participate in the Tribeca Presents Channel on United Airlines in December. | Boman Modine, Joe d’Angerio, Adam Rackoff, Sara Garth |
| Seattle International Film Festival | West Coast Premiere | May 22, 2015 | Selected to participate in the Starbucks Digital Network during the festival (May 21–24, 2015). | |
| New Media Film Festival | Los Angeles Premiere | June 9, 2015 | Winner, Best Short "Pilot" Award | Boman Modine |
| Traverse City Film Festival | Michigan Premiere | July 29 and August 1, 2015 | Official Selection | Boman Modine and Adam Rackoff |
| Tumbleweed Film Festival | Washington Premiere | July 30, 2015 | Official Selection | |
| Oldenburg International Film Festival | International Premiere | September 16–20, 2015 | Official Selection | Boman Modine |
| Calabasas Film Festival | | September 17–20, 2015 | Official Selection | |
| Long Beach International Film Festival | | September 24–27, 2015 | Official Selection | |
| Edmonton International Film Festival | Canadian Premiere | October 7, 2015 (as part of Lunchbox Shorts) | Official Selection | |
| Tacoma Film Festival | | October 8–15, 2015 | Official Selection | |
| 15 Short Film Festival | North Carolina Premiere | October 11, 2015 | Official Selection | |
| Dallas VideoFest | Texas Premiere | October 16, 2015 | Official Selection | Matthew Modine |
| Petaluma International Film Festival | | October 16–18, 2015 | Official Selection | |
| Carmel International Film Festival | | October 21–25, 2015 | Official Selection | Boman Modine |
| Washington West Film Festival | Virginia Premiere | October 23 and 24 (as part of Shorts Program Two: Saying Goodbye) and October 24 (before the Ed Asner documentary, My Friend Ed) | Official Selection | Adam Rackoff |
| Naples International Film Festival | Florida Premiere | November 5–8, 2015 | Official Selection | |
| YESfest | Indiana Premiere | November 6–8, 2015 | Official Selection | |
| Alexandria Film Festival | | November 7, 2015 | Official Selection | Adam Rackoff |
| Rehoboth Beach Independent Film Festival | Delaware Premiere | November 11–15, 2015 | Official Selection | |
| SHORT CUTS Short Film Series | Connecticut Premiere | November 18, 2015 | Official Selection | Adam Rackoff |
| Anchorage International Film Festival | Alaska Premiere | December 4–13, 2015 | Jury’s Selection Reel | |
| FilmLab Festival | Italian Premiere | October 13–16th, 2016 | Official Selection | |