Everything We Know About Martin Sheen’s Faith-Filled Christmas Movie
A Christmas tree, a guitar and three wounded strangers will meet on the big screen when THE ONE opens in theaters nationwide Nov. 5.
“From the moment we encountered this story, we were captivated,” Hawk Hill Pictures President Jen Katzfey said.
Hawk Hill Pictures acquired US distribution rights to the holiday faith drama, which stars Martin Sheen and Jana Kramer. The distributor scheduled its release during National Homeless Youth Awareness Month, placing the movie’s foster-care story in front of audiences at a fitting time.
THE ONE follows Hawk, an 18-year-old musician who ages out of Chicago’s foster system and heads toward Enid, Oklahoma, to see the lighting of a towering Christmas tree known as the One. An official theater listing says he carries only his guitar and a few belongings as he faces homelessness and a bitter winter.
Hawk’s trip changes after he meets Jefferson, a mysterious traveler, and Alexis, a runaway teenager grieving her twin sister. Their separate hurts pull them into an unexpected journey through faith, hope and healing instead of leaving each person to struggle alone.
Lisa Arnold directed the movie, and Erin Elizabeth Cook wrote the screenplay, co-produced and appears in the cast. Sheen, Kramer, Nick Zano, Olivia Sanabia, Noah Redclay and Ashlyn Tomlin round out the principal ensemble, according to the movie’s Miracle Makers International Movie Festival listing.
The release also brings a sweet milestone for Christian singer Chris Tomlin’s family. Ashlyn Tomlin makes her feature debut in THE ONE, a moment her father celebrated from the Oklahoma set in a previous Movieguide® report.
The singer’s connection extends beyond the cast list. The team behind THE ONE partnered with For Others, the nonprofit he founded with his wife, Lauren, to draw attention to the child-welfare crisis alongside the theatrical launch.
“Not everyone is called to foster or adopt, but everyone is called to care,” Tomlin said in the organization’s account of its beginnings.
That mission sits close to the movie’s center. Young adults who age out of foster care can lose housing, relationships and practical support almost overnight, and THE ONE gives that crisis a face without making hardship the end of Hawk’s story.
Hawk also carries undiagnosed post-traumatic stress, while Alexis is trying to survive fresh grief. Those details give families room to talk about why vulnerable young people need steady adults, patient care and communities willing to remain present after a crisis stops making headlines.
Faith enters through people who refuse to leave one another out in the cold. The characters carry trauma and grief, but the story’s announced focus on healing suggests that help arrives through companionship, compassion and the courage to trust again.
The production shot in Oklahoma, where Enid’s holiday attraction becomes more than seasonal scenery. It gives Hawk a destination, then surrounds his difficult journey with the promise that light can still break into a long winter.
Families will be able to see how that journey unfolds when THE ONE reaches theaters nationwide Nov. 5. Showtimes and participating locations should become clearer as the release approaches.
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