“Santa Smokes,” a gritty, witty Christmas-in-New-York fable written and directed by Till Schauder and Chris Valentien, will have its New York premiere at the Two Boots
Pioneer Theater from December 15-22.
Working on a shoestring budget, the two German newcomer filmmakers used a 3-person crew to shoot their award-winning English-language feature, a Christmastime tale of an unsuccessful actor named Johnny Jones (director Till Schauder, working under the name Till Terror), who works
as a Santa Claus handing out flyers on Broadway. This job-hating Santa fights, steals, and smokes his way through Manhattan’s holiday-spirited Christmas frenzy. But everyone deserves a moment of luck, and so even this malevolent St. Nick eventually meets his Christmas angel (Kristy Jean Hulslander) and experiences his own “Miracle on 34th Street” – but will it last?
Sporting a newcomer cast, the gritty debut film went on to win Best Director and Best Actress awards at the 2003 Tokyo International Film Festival, along with high-profile awards in Hamburg and Berlin. It screened to sold-out audiences in Hong Kong and Korea, and in Germany, “Santa Smokes” is building cult status. This year, after its re-release
in Berlin, it will be broadcast Christmas Eve on national German television to a primetime audience.
For more info, visit the “Santa Smokes” website.
