Welcome to another week of BEHIND THE LENS. This week, it’s all about Christmas as I welcome director/co-cinematographer/co-editor ADAM VOLERICH, talking about his feature directorial debut, DRINK AND BE MERRY, and director CELIA ANISKOVICH, who is filled with the Christmas spirit as she talks about her documentary, THE MERCHANTS OF JOY.

So, let’s get that cinematic sleigh going with Adam Volerich and DRINK AND BE MERRY.

At a struggling New York dive bar in the days leading up to Christmas 2019, Chet, a beleaguered bartender in a state of extended arrested development, must balance caring for his misanthropic, aging regulars - who have nowhere else to go, and rely on him for far more than pouring drinks - with his naive desires to muster some Christmas spirit. As Adam himself describes it - “You know this bar. Maybe you were a regular. Maybe you were just passing through. But you sat, and you sipped all the same. The Bartender treated you well. The Barflies bantered with each other...It’s a liminal space where the outside world exists only in the memories of those seated on the stools, and they’re all doing their best to forget it. It’s comfortable. It’s cozy. That’s how you remember it anyway."

In this exclusive conversation, Adam talks about how his real-life experiences at the Assembly Bar in Queens inspired DRINK AND BE MERRY and how screenwriter Leon Winters put pen to paper to capture the lifeblood of a dive bar and its patrons. Set on Christmas Eve Day and Eve, the film was shot at the Elm Witch Pub in New Brunswick and looks extremely festive, as many dive bars do for the holidays.

Jefferson White, best known as the beloved character Jimmy on “Yellowstone”, stars as Chet, the bartender who cares about his regulars while his own life has no clarity or cheer. A strong suit of the film is the visual grammar developed by Adam and co-cinematographer Jack Mannion, with some fantastic imagery that ranges from sparkling ECU’s to a B&W dreamlike sequence to night shoots of a post-closing time Chet walking the streets. That visual style emphasizes the contrast between the warm, nostalgic bar and Chet's harsh, sparse apartment and the darkness and solitude of the night. Listening to him discuss the visual magic, including the production design, is enlightening. Adam also has much to say about his collaborative process, most notably between himself, Mannion, and co-editor Dominick Nero, and provides great insight into the challenges of transitioning from shorts to features.

Then we move from the warmth of a cozy, nostalgic bar to the hustle and bustle of New York City with THE MERCHANTS OF JOY and documentarian CELIA ANISKOVICH.

A funny, heartwarming, and grounded documentary that follows five families who sell Christmas trees in New York City each holiday season, THE MERCHANTS OF JOY captures the cast of characters behind the city’s Christmas tree stands– small business owners who bring holiday cheer to the streets each season, along with a healthy dose of friendly (and sometimes not-so-friendly) competition with each other.

As you’ll hear Celia discuss in this exclusive interview, the project began with an Epic Magazine article about the Christmas Tree trade. Propelled by her own love of Christmas, she dove into the project without a penny of funding and maxed out her credit cards. With a tiny crew in tow, she found herself not only directing the film but also driving the crew van, fetching coffee, and generally serving as the production’s one-woman power grid. This is truly lo budget/no budget/micro budget guerrilla filmmaking.

Describing how she developed the story and honed in on the vendors' personal stories, emphasizing the joy and community spirit, it all revolved around the schedules of the individual vendors as they all had more than one location, ping-ponging between multiple lots, drifting from point A to point B with no warning. Celia and her team simply showed up, cameras ready, hoping for the best and bracing for whatever version of chaos arrived. Because prep time was practically nonexistent, the film evolved into a verité sprint—raw, real, and absolutely unscripted. Celia wanted authenticity, not ornamentation.

The film's editing process was challenging, starting with a six-and-a-half-hour assembly. Aniskovich aimed to capture the essence of a Christmas movie while maintaining authenticity. The documentary's success is attributed to the trust and openness of the participants, who shared personal and difficult stories.

Of course, a film like THE MERCHANTS OF JOY all starts with winning the trust of the vendors, and that started with Big Greg. Celia breaks it all down for us, and in her voice, you can hear her appreciation and respect for Big Greg, whose story comes full circle.

As Celia admits, what began as a scrappy passion project grew into something deeply meaningful - a real Christmas movie. Messy, F-bomb-filled, heartfelt, and joyously human.

ENJOY!!