The Holdovers

Set in a New England boarding school in the 1970s, The Holdovers is notable director Alexander Payne's Christmas comedy-drama film. The plot revolves around a grumpy and insensitive history teacher who is tasked with staying back at the residential school during the winter break to keep an eye on the students that cannot go home for the holidays. As he babysits them, the teacher develops a heart-warming and unlikely bond with a intelligent but mentally tortured troublemaker and the school cook who happens to have just lost a son during the Vietnam war. The Holdovers was received largely positively for its compassionate and humurous depiction of the time period and its idiosyncracies. 
The film's written by debutant David Hemingson, produced by Mark Johnson and Bill Block under the banner of Focus Features, and features critically acclaimed performances from Paul Giamatti, Da'Vine Joy Randolph and Dominic Sessa. The film earned Randolph and Giamatti awards at the 81st Golden Globe Awards. The National Board of Review and the American Film Institute both recognised The Holdovers as one of the best films of 2023. The movie also garned more accolades from the Alliance of Women Film Journalists, Astra Film and Creative Arts Awards, and Austin Film Critics Association Awards among others. The film premiered at the 50th Telluride Film Festival.