In the new indie Christmas, Again, writer/director Charles Poekel finds the space between the sadness and hopefulness the holiday season brings to most. And it’s the film’s lead Noel, played by Kentucker Audley, who carries the weight of this tone. A sad young man selling Christmas trees with an apparent refusal to smile, Audley does a lot without doing too much, Poekel clearly respectful of his actor’s talents.
Speaking with Audley shortly after Thanksgiving, it’s clear the respect is mutual. Check out our conversation below for the film now in limited release and available on VOD.
The Film Stage: How does the script for Christmas, Again get to you?
Kentucker Audley: Initially, I think, what drew me to the project was the unusual setting and this authenticity that Charlie [Poekel], the director, brought to it, by going through the process of owning his own Christmas tree stand. That kind of commitment for a small indie film was very interesting and exciting. You know, you’re on all these indie projects and you know the director hasn’t spent much time or thought into what’s being communicated, what the story’s about, what’s the world, what you’re trying to paint is. Charlie was the opposite. He spent four years researching, essentially, this film without a plot and that’s an exciting kind of commitment for me to be around and to be a part of. I could see his passion, I could see his drive to tell this really intimate story. And that’s my main concern with the projects I do, is liking the director and being interested in working with them.
It was a little bit of a different case with Charlie because this was his first film and I like to see previous work before I agree to do a film because there’s so much that can go wrong and you can’t really tell if someone’s going to make a good film if they haven’t made one in the past. At least that’s how I feel. So there’s a little anxiety about working with a first-time director, although I’m young enough to realize that I can’t be that picky with my roles and I’m not like this famous actor who can pick and choose what he does in this very precious way. But yeah, for this, I liked the director and I liked the film and I knew shooting on 16mm film and capturing this place would be a no-lose situation.
Yes, and the texture of the 16mm film really comes through to capture the authenticity you’re talking about. As the lead of the film in this case, you’re basically operating this tree stand and it’s something that’s become cyclical for your character. How do you navigate a character’s progression when the narrative’s as slim as it is? How are you getting from A to B without obvious act breaks or moments like that?
Well, for this one it was a little unusual because there was so little happening that you’re really tuned in to every little moment and looking for clues and looking for where this character is at. We never explicitly talk about his past relationship, there’s a sense of avoiding that. So I feel like there needs to be a pretty strong shift, but it’s a one-step shift. It’s the shift from depression and heartbreak to a taste of expression or uplift at the end.
So basically the process for me was withholding. For the first hour withholding any kind of expression or life in the face of the eyes. And just lean into that difficult time I feel like we can all relate to and let whatever’s washing around me, just let it be there and don’t find satisfaction in anything. And then when I do shift to find some joy in the moment ,and you really notice that because you haven’t seen it and you haven’t realized you haven’t seen it. So it’s a pretty simple shift but it somehow – I think it works in the film because we show so much restraint that any small, little shift is noticeable and recognizable.
You just hit your goal for a Kickstarter for a film called Sylvio, which you’re directing. You’ve been working in the indie world as an actor for a few years now, in everything from Ain’t Them Bodies Saints to Bad Fever to Queen of Earth earlier this year. Now that you’re moving back into the directing world, when you’re on a set like this, with a writer/director like Charles leading the ship, what are trying to pull from or learn as you’re prepping to direct yourself?
With getting into acting, the idea from the beginning has been to see how the directors work and to see how stories get cultivated and how stories get executed. I started as a director and a writer and an editor, so that’s where my heart is, foundation-wise. One of the primary things I’m trying to achieve with acting projects is just to sense how a director is working and what’s working about that and what’s not working about that from my perspective as the actor and what helps me as an actor and what helps the set stay on track. So I’m monitoring that from the inside which is very helpful for me as a developing director.
And this project in particular I think what i took from it was a general positive energy that Charlie has, that was very informative to the general vibe of the shoot and the feeling of people wanting to be there. From my experience, the one thing that derails morale more than anything is a negative energy. And that normally comes from the director in my experience.
And that sort of goes from everybody wants to be there, everybody wants to make a movie, to these cliques developing and these battles that develop between people who are on the director’s side or the cinematographer’s side or the producer’s side. and to me that just drains so much energy from everybody’s performance.
Have you ever found that that type of antagonism helps if it fits the tone of the movie?
That’s a good question. That’s what I was gravitating towards in my earlier films. Trying to stimulate a form of antagonism between people, which can give you some interesting results and I guess is a valid approach. I think for me now, getting a little older, that approach seems a little manipulative in a way where if that’s what you’re going for I think it’s not necessarily something I want to be apart of as an actor and I think it’s a pretty rare thing to get positive results from that. I think it’s pretty accepted for directors to be lunatics and to inspire rage from all sides. But as far as working with actors or other crew members their pretty accepting of a director to be crazy for some reason, and I wouldn’t want to discredit that way, but if that’s the first way – your first intentional pursuit – that doesn’t give me energy.
Tell me a little bit about nobudge.com, this cool website you started for small indie shorts.
Yeah, the site is a side project that I wanted to start just to be a home to films that are not given a fair shake I think. I think short films in general are underseen and under-discussed. And to me there’s a lot you can do with a short film that is worth paying attention to. And I think there’s a lack of places online that curate. And a lot of film festivals don’t play these types of films and what do you do if your film doesn’t get into a festival?
There’s only a couple of spots to go and I wanted to be another voice in that conversation and be a springboard for young filmmakers to watch each other’s work and to have some credibility somewhere. Establish the first rung of like ‘Oh, somebody likes this movie.’ You know, this is credible because somebody likes it, people are talking about it. It’s a tough game to get that first tier of recognition.
Yeah, it’s so true. Even in a world with Vimeo, it’s strange that there’s not much of a life after festivals or without festivals.
Yeah, that’s the idea. I mean, Vimeo’s a great platform but I don’t think film festival circuit short films are their forte. I think they’re more about web videos, flashy. Narrative is not their forte. I mean we embed everything from Vimeo, but to have every film a little bit curated and have a write-up for each film that shows that some time and effort and care has been put into every film.
Christmas, Again is obviously a Christmas, so with that said, what are some of your favorite Christmas movies?
Well, Home Alone has got to be one of the top spots right?
Gotta be.
Yeah, I mean, I kind of love them all. When you see Christmas in a movie it gives you such a strong, visceral feeling of knowing what it feels like to be around Christmas and I think that no matter what’s going on in the movie it gets you there, and that’s the magic of movies, making you feel like you’re there.
But yeah I’d say Home Alone, A Christmas Story and It’s A Wonderful Life, you gotta watch that.
What’s next for you?
So, Sylvio is the big next project that I’m working on. I haven’t directed a film in several years so that’s been all my time and energy has been developing that story and putting all of that together. So I’m trying to slow down and focus on one thing at a time, so that’s basically the only thing I’m working on at this point. I’ve acted a lot over the last couple of years. Some of them have been good experiences, some of them have been learning experiences that I don’t want to necessarily re-create. I feel like now’s the time… I feel like I’m trying to promote too many things at once and spreading myself a little too thin. I’m trying to take the opposite approach now and put everything into one project and that’s it for me right now.
Christmas, Again is now in limited release and available on VOD.