Sebastopol’s Fall Doc Nite series will be wrapping up on December 12 at 7 p.m. with a screening of the Operation Santa doc Dear Santa (2020) at 7 p.m. at Rialto Cinemas® Sebastopol, followed by a discussion with director with director Dana Nachman and cinematographer Mike Abela and a casual gathering at Fern Bar. Each year, hundreds of thousands of letters to Santa arrive at Post Offices around the country. Through Operation Santa, USPS makes it possible for the public to safely adopt these letters and make children’s dreams come true. Dear Santa is a heart-warming look at one holiday season in the life of this unique program.
FILM SYNOPSIS
Dear Santa shines a light on the 100 year-old Operation Santa program run by the United States Postal Service. Each year, hundreds of thousands of letters to Santa arrive at Post Offices around the country. Through Operation Santa, the USPS makes it possible for the public to safely adopt these letters and make children’s dreams come true. The film invites audiences along for the magic of this massive endeavor. Traveling the country, much like Santa does on Christmas Eve, the film focuses on select Operation Santa Centers: some in metropolitan areas like the massive operation in New York City and others in small towns where the Post Office is the heart of the community. The film highlights letters where a child is asking for something poignant, something that goes beyond the common wish for a toy. Santa will explain how he enlists kindhearted strangers across the country for these special requests while he concentrates on toy making, and his demanding delivery schedule. This timeless documentary captures the warmth and spirit of Christmastime through the lens of this great American tradition, provoking audiences throughout the world to ask themselves how they can make the world a better place, one gesture at a time.
DETAILS
The Doc Night screening of Dear Santa and a post-screening discussion with director Dana Nachman and cinematographer Mike Abela will take place at Rialto Cinemas® on December 12 at 7 p.m., followed by casual drinks and snacks at Fern Bar. Doc Night films are also available to stream during the screening.
Doc Night is a co-presentation of Trim Tab, Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival, and Rialto Cinemas®.