New ‘Wesley Christmas’ Movie Celebrates Black Families, Love

The new BET+ film “A Wesley South African Christmas” is a holiday film with a twist.  

Starring in the movie is emerging actor Terayle Hill, alongside prominent actors Dorien Wilson, Jasmine Guy, and Terrence “TC” Carson.  

This third, and final, installment of the Wesley Christmas series is set in Durban, South Africa.  

There, Hill’s character, Todd Wesley, learns how complicated life can get when you mix business, Christmas and family as he embarks on a mission to save a souring business deal – forcing him and the rest of the Wesleys to swap their American holiday for a South African one. 

Wilson plays Bryan Wesley, retired physician and the patriarch of the family.

“The reason I signed on is the representation of Black families,” Wilson said at a media conference ahead of the film’s release. “So many times we have conflicts in our family and they don’t get resolved but we actually talk about things [in the movie], work them out, and you see how we come back together.”

The cast gathered for a media roundtable to discuss the film and its appeal to a broad array of audiences.

“The generational story is important, especially for a Christmas movie,” Guys said. “Multiple people from the family can watch it at the same time.”

To Carson, this movie is important because Black people are not always represented in Christmas movies, like those made by Hallmark.

“That’s why this movie is important, you see us,” he said. “You see us here on the continent having the same experiences and we need to see that.”

As the plot unfolds, so does Black love, and it does so in various forms from navigating familial bonds to finding brotherly love in unexpected places. 

In addition to an all-Black cast, the movie had an all-Black and majority female production team of Chuck West, Bree West and, Chazitear. 

Chazitear joined the husband and wife duo during the second film in the series.

The Wesleys are loosely based on the West’s family, Bree West said, and this film was created after a request from BET studios for an alternative to the typical rom-com.

“We realized we could create Black love,” she said. “If it’s wrapped in a Christmas bow it’s not a romantic movie but you’re still perpetuating the black love message.”

She added that she felt that she could tell an authentic story since she is the matriarch of a family that she likened to a modern-day Brady Bunch. 

Unlike the other two movies in the franchise, “A Wesley South African Christmas” was shot on location in Durban. The film also employed over 400 South Africans during their month filming. 

“There hasn’t been anything done like that,” Chuck West said. “We brought American actors over to South Africa and worked alongside South African actors. And we represented the city that we were shooting.”

The team also said they were the first camera crew outside of the Zulu culture to be allowed on their land. The approval process, however, was lengthy because the royal family wanted to make sure their culture would be properly represented.

“Another thing that’s really special about this project is that we actually have the Queen of Zulu, the Prince of Zulu, the Princess in the film,” Chazitear said.

“A Wesley South African Christmas” is available to stream on Bet+. The film will be released on Paramount’s U.K. and France properties on December 21.