The Christmas Heart

The Christmas Heart is a 2012 Hallmark Channel Christmas film directed by Gary Yates. The movie first released on the Hallmark Channel on December 2, 2012 and stars Teri Polo, Paul Essiembre, and Ty Wood. The films premise follows a group of neighbors that come together to help provide emotional support for a teenage boy that needs a heart transplant.

Heaton first began working on a treatment for The Christmas Heart around 2000 and pitched it to a Hollywood executive, but a film deal was never confirmed. His sister Patricia Heaton remembered the script Heaton had written and sent a copy of his treatment to Hallmark, who purchased the treatment and the script. Filming for The Christmas Heart took place in Winnipeg, Manitoba during March 2012. Due to the unseasonably warm weather in Winnipeg, the film crew had to make snow to make it look like winter, but was also able to find a snow bank in the parking lot of a church.Critical reception was mixed to positive, and the Christian Film Database stated that they found the film very touching. A reviewer for the Philadelphia Inquirer remarked that the film followed the madeforTV Christmas formula and that it would work better if we were a little more invested in young Matt and his survival, but that the ending was satisfying. The Akron Beacon Journal also commented that the film held no surprises but that If you are willing to surrender to its unabashed sentimentality, you may find reason for a sniffle or two, and maybe a reason to smile at the end. ........

Source: Wikipedia