Ali Afshar talks to Variety about making movies in Sonoma County, new ‘Casa Grande’ series

Iranian-born and Petaluma-raised film producer Ali Afshar recently sat down with entertainment news magazine Variety to talk about how he’s found success by making holiday movies in Sonoma County and his plans for the future.

A former actor and race car driver, Afshar is the driving force behind several hit Christmas-themed movies shot in his hometown of Petaluma, including Netflix’s “A California Christmas” and its sequel “City Lights,” and the HBO Max originals “A Christmas Mystery,” “A Hollywood Christmas” and “Holiday Harmony.”

(Photos: Movies filmed in Sonoma County and where to watch them)

On May 1, Afshar and his production company, ESX Entertainment, will premiere his latest creation, the limited drama series “Casa Grande.” In the Variety interview, Afshar called the show, about a migrant farmworker who falls in love with the daughter of a wealthy Northern California landowner, “‘Yellowstone’ with a Latin infusion.”

The series, which consists of five one-hour episodes, will stream on Amazon Freevee.

Watch the trailer for “Casa Grande” below.

Afshar spoke to the magazine about his beginnings as an actor on shows like “Saved by the Bell: The New Class,” his time racing for Subaru America, and how he formed his production company with indie film financier Jared Underwood.

The pair have made 23 films to date.

“I don’t come from a traditional Hollywood pipeline, we like to do things our own way,” Afshar told Variety. “We’ve shot 17 of these 23 films in my hometown of Petaluma, where I built a barn and a soundstage. We use the same local crews over and over again.”

In addition to debuting “Casa Grande“ in May, Afshar told Variety his future plans include branching out into producing different film genres.

“We’re also dipping our toes into horror for the first time. The two young girls who starred in ‘The Black Phone’ and ‘M3GAN,’ they are sisters (Madeleine McGraw and Violet McGraw respectively). I went to high school with their mom in Petaluma. We’re developing a horror movie for them to star in together,“ he said in the interview.

Read the full Variety interview at bit.ly/40qkKDQ.