鈥楢 celebration of working-class joy.鈥� A director鈥檚 ode to NYC鈥檚 Christmas tree sellers.
"The Merchants of Joy," a new documentary on Amazon Prime, features George Smith of NYC Tree Shop.
Courtesy of Prime
New York City is famous for its holiday delights: the Macy鈥檚 Thanksgiving parade, the tree lighting at Rockefeller Center, the Rockettes. But the glitter and gold often stand in stark contrast to the city鈥檚 gritty streets. Helping to bridge that divide are five families who, almost overnight, transform the five boroughs into forests of fir trees every December. 鈥淭he Merchants of Joy,鈥� now streaming on Amazon Prime, is a different kind of holiday movie. It features some street-wise themes and language you don鈥檛 often encounter in Christmas movies (it鈥檚 recommended for ages 16 and up). But, through its storytelling, it also aims to show the spirit of the season from a new perspective: that of the sidewalk tree merchant.
Director Celia Aniskovich says in a Zoom interview that she hoped to make 鈥渁 film that people could revisit and watch year after year, and feel a kind of warm Christmas hug with a little grit.鈥�
Rainy Decembers and the increased demand for artificial trees are among the challenges the tree families face 鈥� not to mention high-stakes competition. But they return every year, often helping each other and the community. Ms. Aniskovich says the project in many ways restored her faith in humanity. 鈥淚 saw real generosity and love at every turn.鈥�
Why We Wrote This
Director Celia Aniskovich鈥檚 new documentary, 鈥淭he Merchants of Joy,鈥� explores the tree-selling families that turn New York鈥檚 streets into forests of firs at the holidays 鈥� and highlights the competition and compassion that accompany them.
The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
How did you come to tell this story of the Christmas tree merchants?
In December of 2022, there was an article called 鈥溾�� [by Owen Long] that was published in Epic magazine. ... Right after the article was published, everybody in the world sent it to me, starting with my own mother, and said. ... It鈥檚 New York, it鈥檚 Christmas. Do you know this story? You鈥檝e got to make this film. ... So, we optioned the article. And that was the foundation of the film. And then [the writer] introduced me to Big Greg [Greg Walsh of Greg鈥檚 Trees]. I went to his house in Queens. He grilled me with some questions, decided I was worthy, and then introduced me to all of the other families.
The title of the film includes that word: joy. What does that mean to you?
鈥淢erchants of Joy鈥� is actually the Nashs鈥� [one of the five families] tagline. They鈥檝e had it since 1974. ... We talk a lot about what divides us. We talk a lot about the dark of the world. There aren鈥檛 a lot of happy documentaries out there. To me, joy is not naive; joy is brave. Joy is hard. It鈥檚 work. But we can do it. It鈥檚 something we can all give to one another.
The merchants are clearly competitive and sometimes salty entrepreneurs. However, you also show them as collaborators and supporters of each other. How did you balance those two sides?
Very quickly, it, for me, became important to recognize that this was a film about a lot more than petty rivalries and a lot more than sales figures. This was about something much bigger, and that was going to be the takeaway. It wasn鈥檛 going to be: Who won Christmas?
Watching the film, I was surprised to learn that many of the workers sleep at the Christmas tree stands during the five weeks they are selling trees in the city. What did you learn that was unexpected during this three-year project?
I lived in New York for 15 years. Like so many New Yorkers, you go to bed one day, you wake up, and the whole city is a forest, and you never really think: How did they get here? What does it take? I never imagined that these five families would control almost all of the sales of trees across the five boroughs. I was shocked at the practical level of how it worked, how much it cost. You know, Ciree Nash [the CEO of Uptown Christmas Trees] just told me it costs her $1.3 million to break even every year. That鈥檚 wild. ... But then on [the] less logistical side, I was really shocked to learn that this is a calling for these people. Greg says, 鈥淲e are hustlers. We鈥檙e peddlers. But we could have chosen to sell anything, and we chose to sell trees because it鈥檚 not just about a product for us. It鈥檚 about a memory and a moment and creating that special time for families.鈥�
What universal themes do you think will resonate with people watching this story?
This to me is a story about tradition, a story about family, a story about a legacy, a story about community. These five families are 鈥� [from] different backgrounds, and they come together, and they put Christmas first. For some of them ... it is a religious calling. They feel as though they have been put on this earth to bring people magic, but also to ... [help people], as you saw in the film, Heather [Neville of the NYC Tree Lady] hires the 鈥渦ndesirables,鈥� as they describe themselves. There are a lot of universal themes in this movie. I hope the biggest one that people see is that you can change someone鈥檚 life. You don鈥檛 know what a kind word might do for someone. You don鈥檛 know what a hand up might mean.
What do you hope viewers carry away with them after watching this film?
This is a celebration of working-class joy. We don鈥檛 see a lot of working-class joy, and it鈥檚 really powerful. I hope that people watch this with their families again and again. I hope they carry with them some of the messages that all of these tree salesmen brought me, which is that life is about a lot more than the little things we worry about.