Charles Poekel
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Building a Christmas Tree Stand to Make a Movie: Charles Poekel on Christmas, Again
From day one there wasn’t much about the making of Christmas, Again that you could describe as “traditional.” So, when it came to releasing the film, it only felt natural to explore the less “traditional” routes. I use “traditional” in quotes because in 2015 I can safely say that non-“traditional” strategies are the new norm, if not the only viable option for any film, big or small (we’ve seen quite a few high-profile, big-budget “traditional” releases tank this year). So moving forward, I’ll refer to our strategy as “individualized,” which I think is a more accurate way of describing this norm. […]
by Charles Poekel on Nov 25, 2015 -
“I Want to Direct Films, But Can I Actually Do It?”: Christmas, Again | Director Charles Poekel
What fear — whether it’s personal, or one related to the development, financing, production or distribution of your film — did you have to confront and conquer in the making of your movie? The biggest fear I had to confront, which I suppose is every first-time director’s fear, was the issue of confidence–simply, “Can I do this?” Can I follow my instincts and make something that actually makes sense, and people find engaging? I’ve wanted to direct films since I was in middle school, and I’ve directed plenty of weird mediocre low-budget films that I was never really proud of. So in […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 29, 2015 -
Sundance ’15: Cinematographer Sean Price Williams on Shooting Christmas Again
In an interview elsewhere on this site, director Charles Poekel said he wanted his feature Christmas, Again to look like a “Christmas tree ornament from your attic.” With that directive, what better D.P. to hire than Sean Price Williams? His love of and delicate touch with celluloid — its textures, its organic feel — shine through in such films as Listen Up, Philip and The Black Balloon. And his mobile camerawork and ability to shapeshift to whatever the production environment dictates made him an ideal collaborator for Poekel, who was shooting his first feature in his own Christmas tree stand […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jan 23, 2015 -
“I Wanted the Film to Feel Like a Christmas Tree Ornament from your Attic”: Charles Poekel on Sundance NEXT Film Christmas Again
With Charles Poekel’s charmingly melancholy debut, Christmas, Again, the independent film maxim “write what you know” gains a corollary: “write what you can learn.” For his tale of a withdrawn Christmas tree salesmen just trying to get through the season, again, Poekel gained knowledge of his protagonist’s trade by opening and operating his own stand in Greenpoint — a job he’s still doing five years later. Defiantly non-melodramatic and with the well-worn feel of a ’70s New York character study, Christmas, Again has both poetry and an unprepossessing air. In other words, it’s a perfect holiday visitor. Christmas, Again premiered […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jan 23, 2015
