(Image courtesy of Obscured Pictures)
Director Charles Poekel knew he wanted a real Brooklyn Christmas tree stand for the backdrop of his first feature film, “Christmas, Again,” but tree salesmen are a tough crowd to get in with; he wasn’t sure how he was going to conduct research or get permission to film his low-budget flick. His solution? He became a bona fide tree salesman himself, setting up shop as McGolrick Trees for three cold Christmas seasons.
“I thought, what if I make my own stand and I can use the profits for the movie?” he told Variety back in August, when the film was screened at the Lacarno film festival. “I’ll have a location to shoot at, and working at that stand will really give me the first-hand knowledge of what it’s like to be one of these guys.”
Poekel combined the profits with a successful $15,000 Kickstarter campaign, and the hard work paid off in a big way. This week the film is featured in the “Next” category of the Sundance Film Festival, to sold-out showings and glowing reviews. And it’s been picked up by AMC, according to Deadline.
“Christmas, Again is a hugely rewarding watch,” wrote Andrew McArthur in The People’s Movies Tuesday. “Intimate and low-key in tone, but rich in character and charm, Poekel’s film is a real delight.
McGolrick Trees. (Kickstarter)
“Poekel demonstrates an impressive flair for drawing important narrative details from seemingly trivial conversations,” noted Slant reviewer Clayton Dillard.
Poekel told Filmmaker he wanted his movie about a young, sad-sack tree salesman to remind viewers of “a Christmas Tree Ornament from your Attic,” and it’s been noted that its aesthetic charm could be attributed to his choice to film it on a Super 16 camera. He also enlisted the expertise of cinematographer (and former Kim’s Video clerk) Sean Price Williams (Listen Up Philip, Somebody Out There Likes Me).
The film chronicles Noel (Kentucker Audley) during his fifth consecutive year selling trees in the city. Heartbroken over love lost, he meets a mysterious woman (Hannah Gross) who, along with some colorful customers, helps him overcome his downward spiral of destruction. This is the 30-year-old Greenpoint-based filmmaker’s writing/directing debut; his credits also include cinematography for the documentary films Hey Bartender (2013), Making the Boys (2011) and All In: The Poker Movie (2009).
In a video introduction to “Christmas, Again” that was filmed for Sundance, he’s first seen bending down to enter the tiny door of the 1978 Scotty Sportsman camper where most of the film takes place. Immediately he hits most of the marks when it comes to requisite Brooklyn style: sporting a mustache, wire-rimmed glasses and a flannel shirt, he sits down at the camper table, gives his yellow lab a pat, and tells us a little about his film.
“What I think is so interesting about selling trees in New York City is that these guys never stop,” he says. “Rain or snow they’re always there.”
If you couldn’t make it to Sundance this year, you can catch Christmas, Again at the annual New Directors/New Films Festival this March.
