(Posted 8:30 a.m., Nov. 19)
Navan miss makes acting debut in made-for-TV Christmas movie
By Fred Sherwin
Orléans Online

Nine-year-old Tori Barban from Navan recently starred in the made-for-TV holiday movie 'The Christmas hope' which aired on the Vision Network on Wednesday night. Fred Sherwin/Photo

Tori Barban may only be nine years old, but she's already well on her way to fulfilling her dream of one day walking the red carpet at very own Hollywood premiere.

Navan’s newest acting sensation made her television debut on Wednesday starring in the mada-for-TV holiday drama “The Christmas Hope” which aired on the Vision Network at 9 p.m.

The Grade 4 Heritage Punlic School student.played Emily Adams, an orphaned girl who is taken in during the Christmas holidays by a young couple who recently lost their teenage son. The couple was played by Hollywood veterans Madeleine Stowe and James Remar.

“The Christmas Hope” is the third installment in a trilogy of holiday movies that began with “The Christmas Shoes” which aired on CBS in 2002 and continued with “The Christmas Blessing” which aired in 2005. All three movies are based on a series of books written by Donna Van Liere.

“The Chirstmas Hope” was filmed almost entirely in Winniprg last winter.

At the time a very nervous, but excited Tori said she was thoroughly enjoyng the experience and that she was getting a lot of help from the cast and crew. Her only previous acting experience before winning the part was with the Orleans Young Players Theatre school.

“I can’t wait to see it on television. It’s going to be very exciting,” Tori said at the time.

Well on Sunday, Dec. 13 she got her chance. Tori was able to watch the American broadcast of “The Christmas Hope” on the Lifetime Network at a resort in Lake Placid.

Tori’s parents knew in advance that the movie was premiering on Lifetime, so they started calling a couple of places within easy driving distance to see if they carried the channel.

At first the resort in Lake Placid said they did not, but when Tori’s mother Krista Barban explained the situation, they said that they could switch feeds in their room.

As it turned out, the resort did one better. Instead of brining the feed into the Barbans’ room, they set the family up in the resort's 54-seat theatre so they could have their own private viewing in style.

“It was very, very surreal,” says Krista Barban about the experience. “I kept looking over at Tori and told her, ‘Wow that’s you up there.’”

As for the actress herself, the experience was a little overwhelming.

“It was very, very weird, but I think I did pretty good,” says Tori.

The only scene that made her cringe was the crying scene, which she thinks she could have done a better.

“I definitely need to work on my crying,” says Tori.

Tori’s mother, however, thinks the scene was one of her best.

“I thought she was pretty good,” says Krista.

The family got to see the movie again on Wednesday night when it aired on the Vision Network. When she went to school on Thursday, she was congratulated by all of her teachers and some of her friends who stayed up late to watch the movie.

“A couple of people saw part of it because it ended really late. They all congratulated me and they said they really liked it,” says Tori.

Tori’s 11-year-old brother Tyler even admitted that his sister did a good job, only not in so many words.

“He didn’t say anything to me, but I guess he told my mother in the car that he liked it and that he was proud of me,” says Tori.

Since filming the movie, Tori has auditioned for a number of roles and even landed a part in an MTV movie based on the popular movie “Made”.

In an interview with The Ottawa Citizen, the movie’s producer Beth Grossbard said Tori was a natural.

“She nailed it,” said Grossbard. “We did the movie in 15 days and she had to work (hard) and be up and really understand production. Well, this child walked onto the set and it was like she was an old pro. She had more energy than the actors and she kept everybody entertained.”

As for the future, Tori plans to pursue acting as far as it will take her. She’s definitelty caught the bug.

“I love everything about it,” says the budding young actress. “I like fooling around with stuff that you can do with acting and that is so much fun to me.”

For now the Barbans are waiting to get a DVD copy of the movie so they can watch it from beginning to end without all the commercials.

(This story was made possible thanks to the generous support of our local business partners.)

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