Free Republic

GRAND RAPIDS, January 5, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A film rejected by Hollywood distributors has set a record for the longest test screening in history -- 55 weeks -- set at the Michigan theatre where it has been playing since December 2003. The pro-family, feel-good comedy, Uncle Nino, out-endured every other film released in the US in 2004, including The Passion of the Christ. Made for only US $2.9 million and shot in 25 days, Uncle Nino is the story of "an eccentric Italian relative whose visit helps heal a fractured American family," according to a telegraph.co.uk report. The test-screening was...

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — For more than one year, an inexpensive, independently produced, PG-rated movie with a simple story about the importance of love and family has packed audiences of all ages into a single theater here. "People show up every day for 'Uncle Nino,' " said Ron Van Timmeren, an executive vice president for Celebration Cinema, the regional, family owned movie chain that began running the film at one of its multiplexes on Dec. 5, 2003.     Now, the local phenomenon has landed a nationwide distributor — the same one that helped put out "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" and...