Art Beat Feature: Celebrate the season with ‘Awesomest Christmas Ever.’ Streaming starts Friday

Available to Stream Friday, Nov. 22, on Prime Video and YouTube.

Imagine discovering your parents are planning a divorce… six days before Christmas. That’s the premise of Awesomest Christmas Evera festive new movie by local filmmaker Matthew Wilson, making its streaming debut on Prime Video and YouTube this Friday. Roku Channel and Tubi have also picked it up, with release dates yet to be announced.

The movie premiered Monday, Nov. 18, at the Edmonds Theater to a packed house of cast members and their families and friends. The energy in the room was palpable. Many of the interior scenes were filmed in the homes of Wilson’s family and friends, making it a true family affair.

Gus Howell, Director Matthew Wilson, Ellison Pipe, Charles Brent Shaphren, and Sound Operator Ross Smith.

Local audiences will delight in the film’s nods to beloved locations. The family visits Stocker Farms to get a very sassy Christmas tree, and references to Marine View Drive and Leavenworth add a nice regional touch. Everyone in the audience cheered when a shot of the Edmonds Centennial Plaza Christmas tree lit up the screen.

Movie Still of Ellison Pipe and Gus Howell.

The comedic story follows 10-year-old Ollie (an absolutely darling Gus Howell), who discovers six days before Christmas that his parents (Sonya Davis and Steve Mallers) are planning to get a divorce. But they don’t know he knows. The plan was to tell him after Christmas so as not to ruin the season.

Ollie realizes he can try to reunite them while they’re still in the same house, pretending everything is normal. He plots a series of wild schemes, enlisting the help of his best friend (Izzy Richter) – a girl who is NOT his girlfriend (Ellison Pipe) – his grandparents (Charles Brent Shaphren and Carie A. Esquenazi) and a talking Christmas tree (voiced by Elena Flory-Barnes). Together, they’ll try to make it the Awesomest Christmas Ever. You can watch the trailer here.

Movie Still of Sonya Davis and Steve Mallers.

“This is the fourth movie I have shot here in the Seattle area,” Wilson Shared. “I grew up in Mill Creek, moved to LA to learn filmmaking, and now live back in Everett.”

This is the sixth feature Matthew Wilson has written, directed, produced, and edited himself, hiring only a small cast and skeleton crew for the shoot days. His method of producing movies on a budget Hollywood would spend to rent a parking lot has been featured in the Wall Street Journal. His films have also been recognized for their unique portrayals of religious characters in publications like Christianity Today and Christ and Pop Culture.

Gus Howell, Director Matthew Wilson, Ellison Pipe.
The front of the Edmonds Theater decked out for the premiere.

A TV writer for shows on Cartoon Network (Krypto the SuperdogTransformers: Robots in DisguiseMonster Beach) and Disney Channel (Brandy and Mr. Whiskers), Matthew Wilson began making independent films in 2011 after he won the Amazon Studios prize for a zero-budget “test movie” of his script The Umpire. Since then, he has made five more movies: Speak to Me in Poetry, The VirginsThe Pastor and the ProDanny Doom and now Awesomest Christmas EverYou can learn more about Wilson and his projects on his website

Gus Howell

Whether you’re laughing at Ollie’s schemes or cheering for local landmarks, Awesomest Christmas Ever promises to bring the holiday spirit home. Grab some cocoa and get ready to make this movie part of your family’s holiday watchlist starting Friday, Nov. 22. 

— By Elizabeth Murray

Elizabeth Murray is a freelance writer thankful to call Edmonds home. When she’s not busy wrangling her two kids (and husband), you can find her playing ukulele. She can be reached at elmm22@gmail.com.

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