A Christmas movie filmed right in downtown Riverbank got its hometown premiere this week, complete with a red carpet, a sold-out theater screening and a free outdoor showing planned for the very park where cameras rolled back in January. “A Christmas Ornament to Remember” kicked off its celebration Thursday with a gala at Galaxy Theatres starting at 6:30 p.m., following months of anticipation since cast and crew transformed Riverbank’s Plaza del Rio into a wintry film set.
According to KCRA, the film stars Hannah Brantley as Amanda, a big-city veterinarian who returns to her hometown after a major storm, and uses Riverbank’s Plaza del Rio as the backdrop for several of its key scenes. The movie was written and directed by Arvin Berner, a Modesto native who said the Riverbank square was selected while the production was scouting locations, KCRA reported. Filming took place in January, and according to Riverbank News, crews shot scenes in Plaza del Rio Park that month, with area residents invited to show up for a 6 p.m. tree-lighting scene as extras.
That same outlet reported that the leads in the film are Tom Maden and Hannah Brantley, with Berner serving as writer and director, and that the holiday love story begins with an effort to rebuild the city’s Christmas nativity scene in the town square after it was damaged by a storm. Per KCRA, hundreds of Riverbank residents ultimately participated as extras, and Brantley said she valued the small-town charm and the warm, supportive community she found while filming there.
Local Leaders Celebrate a Hometown Cameo
Riverbank Mayor Rachel Hernandez said seeing residents appear as extras in the finished film was special, according to KCRA. The director echoed that sentiment while speaking about the production's reception in town, telling the Oakdale Leader, “So many people showed up from Riverbank, and they were so energetic.”
The film’s title has shifted somewhat since filming began. Early coverage referred to the project under the working title “The Ornament,” with the Riverbank News reporting it was expected to be out for the 2026 holiday season. The same shift in naming was noted by the Escalon Times, which also referred to the movie as “The Ornament” ahead of its release as “A Christmas Ornament to Remember.” The dossier does not explain when or why the title changed.
Premiere Week Brings Red Carpet and Free Screenings
The celebration in Riverbank this week included multiple scheduled screenings beyond the Thursday red carpet gala. The Oakdale Leader reported that two additional public screenings were set at Galaxy Theatres: one Thursday at 10:15 p.m. and another Friday at 7:15 p.m. KCRA also listed the Friday 7:15 p.m. Galaxy Theatres showing among the scheduled events tied to the film’s release.
A free outdoor screening is scheduled for Saturday at 5 p.m. at Plaza del Rio, open to the public, per the Oakdale Leader's reporting and confirmed in KCRA's coverage as a Saturday afternoon screening at the same park. It’s a fitting bookend: the same stretch of downtown that stood in as a snowy movie set in January is set to host the community for a free evening under the stars.
Where to Watch It Now
Beyond the in-person events, the film has also landed on streaming. Tubi lists “A Christmas Ornament to Remember” as a 2026 release available to watch for free on its platform, with a synopsis describing a veterinarian who rushes home to help her family recover from a devastating storm, only for a mysterious ornament to arrive and change everything. Tubi’s cast listing includes Hannah Brantley, Thomas Maden, Johan Balyemez, Robin Bjerke and Samuel Robinson Kruem. KCRA reported the film is available for free on Tubi, YouTube and other streaming platforms.
The Riverbank production is part of a broader pattern of holiday filmmaking tied to the region. Eric Raingruber of Modesto-based Sprocketless Entertainment described the project as the company’s third Christmas film made with Nicely Entertainment, according to 209 Magazine. For a small Central Valley city, watching its own square double as a Christmas movie set, then packing a red carpet premiere for the result, has made for a memorable season even before the first snowfall.
