When Sara Taksler’s parents gave her a video camera for high school graduation, little did they know that it would lead her to a new career as a film director. Taksler, a graduate of West Windsor-Plainsboro High School, Class of 1997, is the co-director of “TWISTED: A Balloonamentary,” which will be screened at the New Jersey International Film Festival on Sunday, June 3, at 7 p.m., in New Brunswick. Taksler will be at the screening.##M:[more]##
A feature documentary, the film begins with an animated segment narrated by Jon Stewart that explores how eight people’s lives are transformed when they discover balloon twisting conventions. According to Taksler, “It is a hilarious and heartwarming film about passion, salvation, love, death, race, religion, and a whole lot of balloons.” Visit www.twistedballoondoc.com to see the trailer.
Taksler was born in Edison and moved to West Windsor when she was three. Her parents, Stephen, a retired stockbroker, and Sharon, a special education teacher in Burlington County, moved to Burlington in 2001.
Taksler first started thinking about doing a documentary in high school. The video camera gift was viewed as something she could use for college. “I was interested in making movies — just for fun but they knew I would get good use out of it,” she says.
She put the camera to use early on at Washington University in St. Louis where “many people had a negative stereotype of New Jersey” and her midwestern roommates teased her about her New Jersey roots. She created an educational home movie called “Stop the Ignorance: The Beauty That is New Jersey”! “I showed them the farm land and Princeton — they were surprised,” she says.
“In my senior year of college, one of the presidential debates was held at my school and I weaseled my way into a press pass,” Taksler says. “I started interviewing politicians and celebrities who came for the event and really enjoyed it.” Her interviews with Al Franken, Bill Bradley, and Rob Reiner were included in her short documentary about the 2000 Presidential election.
Taksler, a researcher for “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” lives in Manhattan. She was formerly a college marketing representative for Buena Vista Pictures Marketing, a journalist for dosomething.org, and she worked in production for Nick At Nite and MTV2.
“After working in entertainment for awhile, my friend Naomi Greenfield and I decided to work on a documentary and came up with the idea to look at the people who go to balloon twisting conventions,” she says. Greenfield, an associate producer at FabeVision, an animation and educational multimedia studio, began balloon twisting when she was 13. Her twisting at parties, street fairs, and private events led to her business, the Red Balloon Company. She later worked at Sesame Street, Fox Family Channel, Scholastic Entertainment, and WGBH Boston.
The two women checked out Twist and Shout, a balloon twisting convention. “After filming the Sunday morning Gospel Balloon Service, we knew we had a movie,” says Taksler. They continued to interview convention attendees on Greenfield’s mother’s Handycam.
Taksler and Greenfield taught themselves film school 101, and soon added microphones, lights, computers, and more camera equipment. Since Greenfield lived in Boston and Taksler in New York, editing was done during vacations and periods of unemployment. Most took place during the summer and fall of 2006.
Funding came from family and friends with every donator listed in the film credits. For $100 or more donation, a photo was included. They tried to auction off an executive producer credit on eBay. “While no one bid, two people contacted us immediately afterwards,” says Taksler. Lauren Versel of Lucky Monkey Pictures and Nick “The Balloonatic” Rotondo became executive producers.
They co-produced and co-directed the 79-minute film which features a flying octopus, a Trojan horse, two 100-foot tall soccer players — all created from balloons.
Taksler has also performed at Caroline’s Comedy Club in New York City and the Arts Factory in Byron Bay, Australia. According to her bio, her random talents include talking backwards, playing harmonica and guitar, and a remarkable fake sneeze. Her favorite balloon animal is two birds kissing in a heart.
Taklser asked Jon Stewart, also a former Mercer County resident, to narrate a short animated segment in the film. “We wanted to get a familiar voice and Jon is someone who immediately lets the audience know they’re going to laugh and have a good time,” says Taksler. — Lynn Miller
New Jersey International Film Festival, Scott Hall 123, College Avenue, New Brunswick, 732-932-8482. www.njfilmfest.com “Small Avalanches,” Lara Fitzgerald; “Twisted: A Balloonamentary,” Sara Taksler and Naomi Greenfield. Appearances by filmmakers Fitzgerald, Sara Taksler, and Naomi Greenfield. $7. Sunday, June 3, 7 p.m.
