If you’re making an independent film, the chances of it also being a Christmas movie are probably fairly slim. Filmmaking is hard enough as it is; only the truly bold add a seasonal angle on top of all that. Which is what makes Feast of the Seven Fishes such an endearing diversion in a holiday movie season chock full of cheesy Hallmark romances and studio fare that doesn’t quite live up to the hype.

Written and directed by Robert Tinnell (and based on a 2005 graphic novel he also wrote), Feast of the Seven Fishes centers around that traditional Christmas Eve meal celebrated in particular by Italian Americans. In this case, it’s Christmas 1983, giving Tinnell another uphill filmmaking battle—the period piece.