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A Gift most rare
A FILM
Based on the Book
A Gift Most Rare
By Tom Leihbacher
Written by Patricia Cori
Executive Producers - Pamela Murphy & Dea Shandera
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A near-death experience and the Angel who pulls him back awaken a young man to his true mission in life and the infinite power of love.
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There are no accidents. Only appointments with destiny, waiting for you to show up.
While he waits for them to suit up, he notices his crush, MICHELLE ROBINS, seated on a park bench with her friend, her eyes glued on him. He skates out closer to where she is and goes into performance mode.
Showing off and unaware that he’s on a dangerous part of the pond - skating on thin ice. When he skillfully executes the difficult double axle
leap, he crashes through the ice and disappears in the deadly freezing
cold water below.
Leap! Charlie crashes through the ice and disappears in the deadly freezing cold water below.
Out of nowhere, SKY
NORTHBRIDGE, a 6’4” giant
of a man –an otherworldly
stranger to the town –manages
to reach his mighty arm into
the water and pull Charlie out,
but not before the boy has an
extraordinary near-death
experience, replete with angelic
music, the tunnel of light so
many report seeing… and a
message from God himself:
“It is not your time. You have
work to do.”
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It's the Christmas season in a peaceful hamlet in upstate New York - Briarcliff manor, where winter pastime is celerated by many in the town's Law Park and on the ice, at Gooseneck Pond, where kids and adults alike enjoy ice skating, hockey and socializing around the fire pit and snack bar.
SYNOPSIS
CHARLIE RIVERTON is a carefree fifteen-year-old kid who’s an ace skater and hockey player, a beloved son, great student and all-around popular young citizen of the town. The day after a massive blizzard dumps three feet of snow, he and his pals are at the pond, getting ready for a hockey match.
Sky applies emergency resuscitation procedures and brings Charlie, who is technically dead, back to life, just before the ambulance arrives and rushes him off to the hospital. However, despite all the emergency medical procedures, he slips into a coma.
Despairing BOB and JOAN RIVERTON, Charlie’s parents, learn on arrival at the hospital that their son is in critical condition –in a coma. With no idea of the fate that awaits their only child, there is nothing to do but wait… and pray.
As if touched by an angel, Charlie comes out of the
coma less than twenty-four hours later, uninjured
and unscathed, but still reeling: consciously aware
that he died and came back –highly sensitive to
everything and everyone around him –with a
mission he has yet to understand.
Sky, the enigmatic visitor to Briarcliff to whom Charlie turns for solace and guidance, helps him recognize the power of what he has experienced, and the extraordinary wonder of having died and returned, with a purpose he soon learns is the greatest gift life could ever offer.
Through his new-found sensitivity and exalted emotional awareness, Charlie touches the lives of people who are struggling with
PRODUCER: DEA SHANDERA-HUNTER
Dea Shandera-Hunter is a highly regarded and seasoned media and entertainment creative executive, having served tenures over twenty years at Paramount Pictures, The Walt Disney Company/The Disney Channel and MGM –with her most recent post being Executive Vice President of Worldwide Marketing for MGM Television.
She has a reputation for being an out-of-the-box
thinker with a unique approach that has made a
significant difference for the companies and
individuals she has worked with.
Since leaving the studios, she has consulted in every
area of communications and entertainment
businesses, from publicity to production through
distribution for books, products, film and television.
List available upon request.
Current list of produced projects in
Film/Events/Entertainment available upon request.
SCREENWRITER: PATRICIA CORI
An internationally acclaimed author with sixteen published works spanning nearly three decades, Patricia Cori is a devoted spiritualist whose inspiration now extends to writing for the screen. She penned the screenplay adaptation of her novel The Emissary and most recently adapted Tom Leihbacher’s A Gift Most Rare for film—a heartwarming story of faith, hope, and mystical revelation.
A prolific writer and world adventurer, Patricia Cori is a natural storyteller who brings curiosity, vision, and an adventurous spirit to stories that touch human lives. Her work effortlessly crosses genre lines, resonating with audiences young and old—skeptics and dreamers alike—and everyone in between.
PAMELA MURPHY
Executive Producer ~ Producer ~ Development Executive
Pamela Murphy is an Executive Producer with extensive experience in film,
television and documentaries. The former Vice President of Development at
Hallmark Entertainment, she oversaw development of high-profile films and
mini-series under the leadership of Robert Halmi, Sr. and David Picker.
Earlier in her career, Pamela served as Development Executive for actor-
producer Michael Douglas, where she established and led the Story Department
at two of his production companies, collaborating with top writers and directors
in the development of feature films.
Pamela co-founded Sirocco Films, specializing in international co-productions
and produced projects such as Kiri Wai: Inner Skin (New Zealand Film Festival),
Steps to the Future (France 2) and A Chosen Death (exhibited throughout France).
In 2024, She Executive Produced Hallmark Mystery’s acclaimed Christmas Under
the Lights, starring Heather Hemmens and Marco Grazzini.
Through her company Jacaranda Road Productions, Pamela continues to
develop feature films and TV projects with a focus on creative story telling and
international collaboration.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:TOM LEIHBACHER
Tom Leihbacher has lived in Briarcliff Manor for most of his life. After graduating from Briarcliff High School and then the University of Florida, he began a career in media sales, married Reverend Higgins’ daughter at the Briarcliff Congregational Church and became a father. He and his family enjoy a rich life filled with church and community involvements and great friendships. He listens to Dr. Cook’s Walk with the King broadcast each morning prior to boarding a Manhattan-bound commuter train at Scarborough Station; walks his rescue dog/best friend through Law Park and past the Pine Forest on most nights. He enjoys membership at Sleepy Hollow Country Club, stops for sunsets over the Hudson River and once in a while can be found lacing up his hockey skates at one of the frozen ponds in town. After over thirty-five years in the corporate world, this is his first novel. The sequel, Summer Up is available now and the third book in the Briarcliff series is a work in progress.
