TREES
$75,000.00
Goal-
$0.00
Raised -
130
Days to go
, United States (US)
A poignant journey unfolds as a documentary team pieces together the vibrant legacy of “Big Scott,” a legendary New York City Christmas tree vendor, through intimate archival footage and heartfelt memories of the colorful characters whose lives he profoundly influenced.
SYPNOSIS
The selling of as many Christmas trees, wreaths, and ornaments as possible during a holiday season is a goal most New York City Christmas tree vendors hope to achieve, yet for “BIG SCOTT” aka “Willie the Hat”, it’s a time to spend the early winter months haggling with customers, kibitzing with crew, and inviting his best clients to a customary “bump on the nose”, more commonly known as a shot of Hennesy, tequila, and whiskey. Big Scott and his crew are quick to share the ins and outs of Soho Trees, the most celebrated Christmas Tree vendor in the country, where Big Scott touts his wares with innovative services such as door-to-door tree deliveries, first of its kind in the Big Apple, and the highest quality pines, from Blue Spruce to the finest Fraser Fir. This has garnered him accolades from loyal patrons and local media. Though, economic downturns, city ordinances, and a warming climate, which brings wind and rain instead of a more desired snowy landscape, dulls the holiday spirit and ultimately sales.
It is here where we learn about Big Scott, who develops immediate connections with anyone he meets, an iconoclast who has a soft place in his heart for young folks looking for work.
MEET THE SOHO TREES FAMILY
One such crew member, “LI’L SCOTT”, known as his right-hand man in charge of many things, came to him at age 15 with hopes of earning extra money to buy his girlfriend something special. Li’l Scott has returned to work at Soho Trees every season for 25 years and now towers over Big Scott. He oversees daily activities, keeps workers in line, and makes Christmas tree deliveries across Manhattan. Over the years they’ve become family.
We learn of JOHN “ROUND CITY”, a seasonal worker and talented musician, who is lead foreman at the renowned Soho Trees and who, if you’re lucky, will break out his harmonica for some impromptu blues. There’s KELLY, a budding photographer, in charge of display tables, wreath-making, and ornament sales. She approaches a parked curbside RV, where Big Scott is perched by an opened window, and shares her updates on all merchandise sold under the long narrow tent adjacent to the RV. Big Scott eats, sleeps, and does his accounting in this cramped space where crew members, who have no place to stay, sleep in bunks, on cushions, or wherever there’s enough space to lay their head. Half a dozen additional workers are part of the goings on. They service potential buyers, who stroll the esplanade of Christmas delights in search of the perfect tree, and tend to endless tasks of sweeping, sawing, and selling.
Crew Bios:
MARIO DUCOUDRAY | Director, Producer, Editor
Born to a revolutionary family from the Dominican Republic, Mario Ducoudray uses artistic means to address the ills of the world in lieu of guns. Following NYU Film School, he made his directorial debut on a one-act play, STRIPPING IN PUBLIC, which caused a stir at City Hall in a battle over freedom of expression. Since the early 2000s, his film development company has supported emerging filmmakers, most notably Rodrigo Bellott’s Locarno Critics Prize winner DEPENDENCIA SEXUAL, Bernard Attal’s award-winning short film, A BIKE RIDE, and Mijie Li’s Karlovy Vary-winning CONFUCIAN DREAM. During this time, he also co-founded Stage 13 with Tony Award winner Dan Fogler. Their first film premiered at Tribeca Film Festival before selling to Netflix. A longtime resident of Brooklyn Heights, Mario served as President of a tenant association, where he secured a landmark victory for senior residents after a two-year battle for tenant rights.
https://www.newcirclefilms.us
Faye Yuan | Producer, Co-Editor
Born in Shanghai and raised in the American Midwest, J. Faye Yuan is a New York-based Chinese American curator, producer, and documentary editor. With support from Tribeca Creators Market, Doha Film Institute, and Women Make Movies, Faye produced and edited her first feature about a maverick Chinese animal activist. In 2022, she co-directed and edited an award-winning film documenting the 100-year long history of jazz in China. The following year she began producing a first-person essay film about a Korean adoptee’s decade-long search for his birth family, which has garnered support from American Public Television, Center for Asian American Media, Seoul Film Commission, Korea Film Commission, and New York State Council on the Arts. She is a 2023 PBS Ignite Mentorship for Diverse Voices Fellow, where she produced and directed for PBS Digital Studios, a 2024 Asian American Documentary Network Impact Fellow, and a 2024 International Documentary Association Getting Real Fellow. In addition to filmmaking, she is a curator for the Queens Memory Project – a community-led archiving program supported by Queens Public Library and Queens College.
Instagram – @jiefeiyuan
NICK CAPEZZERA | Cinematographer
Nick Capezzera (he/him) is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, photographer, and co-founder of Player Piano Productions. In 2020, he was a co-producer and co-cinematographer of the documentary short, “Maia Cruz Palileo – Becoming the Moon,” which premiered on PBS. That same year, his directorial debut, “Universe,” (co-directed by Sam Osborn) about famed trumpeter and Miles Davis protege, Wallace Roney, premiered at Sheffield DocFest and won the IDA Award for Best Music Documentary of the Year. Capezzera was most recently a co-producer and cinematographer on the 2021 feature documentary “Building a Bridge,” about a priest’s journey to make the Catholic Church more accepting of the LGBTQ+ community. Executive produced by Martin Scorsese, the film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, had its broadcast premiere on Sundance TV, and is currently streaming on AMC+. In 2022, Nick was awarded the inaugural Leanne Ka’iulani Ferrer Fellowship for “The Other Side of Memory,” a memoir film about his experience as a Korean adoptee. Currently he works as a senior video editor for OceanX.
Instagram – @capezzeranick
https://www.nickcapezzera.com/
SALLY VOLKMANN | Associate Editor
Sally Volkmann (Associate Editor) is a Brooklyn based artist and documentary editor with over a decade of bi-coastal experience. Her work reflects her interests in climate solutions, social justice, and the creative process. Sally’s work has premiered at festivals such as Sundance, SXSW, and Tribeca; on platforms like Disney +, HBO and Netflix; and exhibited in galleries in Phoenix and Washington DC. She’s collaborated on Academy Award Winning and Shortlisted films: Icarus and The Hunting Ground. Sally gives back to the documentary community through the Alliance of Documentary Editors, The Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellowship and the Sundance Documentary Edit & Story Lab.
https://www.sallyvolkmann.com/
ALL DONATIONS ARE TAX-DEDUCTIBLE. A greater portion of your donation goes to the filmmakers, if you mail a check to UnionDocs with “TREES” in the memo line.
The address is:
UNIONDOCS
352 Onderdonk Ave.
Ridgewood NY, 11385
If you are interested in financially supporting us as producers, please reach out, so we can provide the options and credits we have available –
Rewards
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Private link to the finished film's soundtrack - In exchange for this contribution, you will receive goods or services with the estimated fair market value of $0.00
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Private link to soundtrack and a behind-the-scenes photo album - In exchange for this contribution, you will receive goods or services with the estimated fair market value of $0.00
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All of the above + private link to outtakes not in the film - In exchange for this contribution, you will receive goods or services with the estimated fair market value of $0.00
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