Faithspotting "The Merchants of Joy"
Ever wonder all that goes into the Christmas tree lots and street vendors that pop up just before Thanksgiving? The Merchants of Joy goes offers a glimpse of the Christmas Tree life by the 5 Christmas Tree families of New York City. Kenny and Mike review and talk with director Celia Aniskovich.
Kenny and Mike review the Prime Video documentary The Merchants of Joy and speak with the director Celia Aniskovich. The Merchants of Joy offers a look into the people and work behind the Christmas tree stands that seem to magically popup the day after Thanksgiving. Ankisovich presents the stories of the families, the competition that begins in the Summer as they bid on stand locations, their work the with tree farms, the financial risks, the month of 18 hour days managing and selling the trees that play an important part in their customers celebrating the joy of the season, and the community they have developed.
Faith Reflected:
The nature of calling, as represented by the five families as they not only to profit by the stands but help spread the joy of the season. Additionally, Kenny and Mike discuss with Celia her calling to likewise work long, hard and take financial risk to tell the story of the merchants.
The fullness and complexity of joy. Joy is more than happiness, it is also resistance and this aspect reflects the joy of the nativity, God's resisting the brokeness of the world through the inauguration of the Kingdom through the birth of Jesus.
Storyteller, writer, director, producer
Celia Aniskovich is a New York based director and producer. Her career began in live broadcast news as an NBC Page before she transitioned into narrative and documentary filmmaking. Celia's passion and calling is storytelling and she has directed, produced, developed and consulted on numerous US & UK projects and her films and series have been broadcast around the world. The Merchants of Joy is Celia's latest feature project where she served as writer and director.
In 2021, Aniskovich released Spy Affair, a 6-part podcast series for Wondery Originals based on the story of alleged Russian spy, Maria Butina. She also wrote, directed, and produced BURN IT DOWN!, a feature documentary about Woodstock 99, for MRC Studios/Rolling Stone that had its world premiere at the 2021 BFI London Film Festival. Her other 2021 premiers include a feature documentary she executive produced and directed for Discovery+, Fruitcake Fraud (Nominated for a Realscreen Award), and a film she produced for HBO Max, Beanie Mania. Her next film, a feature documentary entitled Call Me Miss Cleo, premiered in December 2022 on HBO Max. Aniskovich has worked on multiple Emmy-nominated programs and is repped by WME. Celia studied Theology and Philosophy and graduated from Fordham University in the Bronx & is a life-long Mets fan.
