SELLING A TREE, BUILDING A FRIENDSHIP

corporate careers and were fledgling writers and filmmakers who had begun working on a screenplay adaptation of Reiner’s 2011 memoir,

but shelved it and decided instead to embark on a profile of François.

They began discussing the project with other parents at the school as well as some neighbours, many of whom had expertise they were willing to share, such as film editing, still photography, legal services and marketing.

“The more we talked about it, the more people joined us and said, ‘I’m in,’” said Reiner, who named the film company 166 Productions after the school. “They were attracted to the story because of their own curiosity about these sidewalk tree sellers.”

The soundtrack was taken on by Erik Della Penna, a PS 166 parent, and songs were contributed by several neighbours of Reiner’s who happen to be prominent musicians, including Loudon Wainwright III Patty Smyth and Marc Cohn

as well as and Laurie Berkner.

“We all literally came together on the school playground,” said Reiner, who enjoyed the fact that many of François’ buyers were not religious.

“Only in New York could a couple of Jews make a film about French Canadians coming to the city to sell Christmas trees to atheists,” he said.

has since been shown at