Karlton Clay has been putting his dreams on film for a long time, but on Thursday, he experienced a first – a red-carpet private premiere at Riverwatch Cinemas for his latest feature film.
“For the Love of Christmas” is Clay’s 10th full length feature and it will be available on Tubi starting Nov. 1. It will also be on Amazon Prime and Fandango-Vudu in coming weeks.
“It’s been 20 years,” said Clay, whose journey into video storytelling began while he was a college student. He’s crafted multiple web series in addition to his feature length films and won numerous awards for his efforts.
And despite some serious technical glitches earlier in the week, the premiere went on.
“Praise God,” he said.
MORE: Garden City Chorus sings barbershop harmonies
“For the Love of Christmas” has the same feel of films as those from other networks such as Hallmark and Lifetime, he said. The premise is of Rashad who is a schoolteacher but is interested in pursuing his dream, all while his girlfriend wants to head down the aisle before Christmas.
Kiara C. Bennett plays the role of Faye, Rashad’s best friend, who hates the bride.
“Working with Karlton is like working with family,” said Bennett, who has been part of multiple Clay projects including the web series “BrothAHood” and “Karma.”
The Christmas themed project was fun, she said.
The plot has some few twists and surprises and as with some romance films, an unexpected love arises, and what makes it fun, according to one performer are some of the supporting characters.
Charmeka Robinson plays Aretha.
“This is by far my favorite role. I got to be myself. I got to be the auntie,” she said.
Aretha is the type of relative who gets in everyone’s business too.
Another of the fun characters is Cousin Junior, played by Ron Robinson.
“He’s the country hillbilly,” he said. “He’s outspoken, and he doesn’t think about what he says.”
MORE: ‘I Still Believe’ is the theme of Jeremy Camp’s life
Charmeka Robinson said she was excited about having the opportunity to have the red-carpet event with all the photographers and the special screening. She was the one who prompted Clay to do it in the first place.
“Karlton is my version of Tyler Perry,” she said. “And I want to celebrate him.”
Donald Ross Jr., who plays Rashad, said the premiere was the biggest day of his acting career and brought his mom along to watch the movie. Seeing the film on the big screen was a thrill.
“It was an amazing experience,” he said. “I was blown away.”
Ross has also been part of other of Clay’s productions but this was his first lead. And in other productions, Ross said he’s been able to see bits of the video along the way.
“He kept it all under wraps. The first time seeing it was at the movie theater,” he said.
Also appearing in the film is Nakia Burisse who was the Yellow Power Ranger in Power Ranger Zeo.
Clay said she brought an extra level of professionalism to the set and was great to work with.
“For the Love of Christmas” is the second Christmas film Clay has produced. In 2020, he released the film “Reindeer Games” and in 2021, “A Very Merry New Year,” which isn’t Christmas per se, but during the holiday season.
Clay’s other titles can be found on streaming platforms such as Amazon Prime, Peacock, Tubi and Freevee.
Charmain Z. Brackett is the managing editor of The Augusta Press. Reach her at charmain@theaugustapress.com
