Tuesday November 26 at 7:00pm at The Empire Theatre
This event is sponsored by Linda & Roli Tipper
Admission: cash donation or non-perishable food item for Gleaners Food Bank

The Man Who Invented Christmas
In 1843, two years after the success of Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens (Dan Stevens) is suffering financial hardship from the failure of his last three books. Rejected by his publishers, he sets out to write a new book, and publish it himself, to restore his finances. Seeing inspiration around London, most notably a rich man's funeral that is largely unattended and sees an old man who give him a catchphrase Humbug, he begins writing A Christmas Carol, due in six weeks in order to be published by Christmas. As Charles develops the story, he interacts with the characters that manifest in front of him, most notably Ebenezer Scrooge (Christopher Plummer). Dickens is helped by one of his servants, Tara, a literate Irish servant, whom he discusses story elements with.

While writing his book, Charles is greeted by the arrival of his father, John Dickens (Jonathan Pryce), whom Charles views as immature and fiscally irresponsible. When Charles shows Tara the next draft, she is distraught that Scrooge would not save Tiny Tim. Tara believes that people can change and suggests instead that Scrooge saves Tiny Tim. However, Charles is unable to believe that a man as cold as Scrooge could change. He rejects the notion but it continues to haunt him in the form of writer's block. Charles' relationship with his family increasingly strains as he struggles with Scrooge's ending, until he sends both his parents and Tara out of the house in a fit of rage.

It is revealed that much of Charles' animosity towards his father is from his childhood embarrassment of working in a blacking factory after his family was taken to debtor's prison. Returning to the long-abandoned factory, Charles is forced to confront his own insecurities through Scrooge. Charles realizes that his story should be one of redemption and races home to finish his manuscript. As he leaves to submit it to his printer, he encounters Tara and invites her back. His wife suggests he do the same with his father, who is about to board a train to leave London. Reconnecting with his family, Charles submits the manuscript in time for publishing before Christmas. The film ends with the Dickens family celebrating the holidays, while a title text explains the overnight success of A Christmas Carol and its lasting impact on the Christmas holiday.