The Christmas message for the Cotswold town of Cirencester has been transformed into a real life video in the style of the blockbuster festive advertising of the UK’s shopping giants.

Showcasing the whole town, it tells a heart-warming story of a family preparing for Christmas, and a little girl whose only wish is for snow on Christmas day.

Filming was conducted throughout the town in October and features familiar businesses, people and places with additional product placement and subtle advertising.

The video is available on the town council’s social media channels and YouTube from today.

‘A Christmas Wish’ highlights what a special place Cirencester is and the perfect place to get all you need for the best Christmas experience.

The mini movie was created by Barn Media and Cirencester Town Council as part of their Shop Local campaign and is winning plaudits for its storyline.

Part of The Barn Theatre, Barn Media is their own in-house production company that has also worked on videos and live productions for Cotswold District Council and during the first lockdown produced live content for the theatre itself as well as live streaming shows featuring TV’s Dr Dawn Harper and explorer and adventurer – Kenton Cool.

Georgia Dibbs, 10, who plays the main character in Cirencester Town Council's Christmas Advert, along with her siblings and parents has been a member of the Barn Theatre’s acclaimed performing arts school Barn Academy for three years.

She also made her professional theatre debut at the Barn as Tiny Tim in the 2019 production of A Christmas Carol and will also play a cameo role in this year's festive production, Peter Pan, which opens at the Barn on December 2.

Georgia’s mother, Mary said: "We'd like to thank everyone involved for making this a really enjoyable experience and the video is something we will cherish as a family at Christmas forever."

Since the Barn gave Georgia her big break, she has appeared in some TV commercials and an ITV kids' TV news special.

Andrew Tubb, CEO of Cirencester Town Council explained that the video is an important part of the town’s recovery plan: “in any challenging situation it is vital to look forward with hope and expectation, and the video typifies this; but equally, to make that hope and expectation a reality we have backed up our response to local concerns in practical ways.

“Local councils, local retailers and local people have worked tirelessly to make Cirencester a safe space to enjoy and visit as we emerge from Covid, with the Christmas lights and tree at the heart of Cirencester, the video creates a sense of warmth and the much needed feel-good factor this winter.

"Visit us soon, a special place affectionately known as ‘Ciren’, within which wishes can come true.”

Further information can be found via www.cirencester.gov.uk.