DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

I’ve always loved Christmas movies… not just for the lights or the nostalgia, but for the way they bring out the contradictions in people. Joy and chaos. Love and loneliness. The holidays have a way of turning ordinary lives into stories worth telling, and that tension is what makes comedy sparkle.

I’m incredibly excited to bring FEELS LIKE HOME to life in New Jersey, a place that feels both wonderfully real and quietly cinematic. There’s something about its diners, snow-dusted streets, and unfiltered personalities that perfectly capture the kind of humor that I love…grounded, a little rough around the edges, but full of heart.

The holidays tend to amplify everything we try to hide the rest of the year: the longing for connection, the awkward family dynamics, the small moments of grace that sneak in when we least expect them. This film is about that chaos - the way love and laughter collide when life refuses to go according to plan. The humor comes from honesty, from people trying (and often failing) to be their best selves when the world around them is wrapped in tinsel and expectation.

This film isn’t about perfect families or picture-perfect holidays. It’s about the messy, funny, human side of the season…where laughter often comes at the most inappropriate times, or right in the middle of a disaster. My goal is to create a movie that audiences want to watch every December, not because it’s polished and perfect, but because it feels like home.