Never in my career as an event filmmaker would I have expected to use the phrase, Wes Anderson Parody Mitzvah Video, yet that’s exactly what this is.
My clients, the Koyfmans, wanted something a little different, quirky and fun. In our conversations developing the concept, they mentioned their theme was sleepaway camp, there was no gum allowed at said camp, and they had an idea to incorporate something silly like the matching tracksuits in The Royal Tennenbaums. I immediately thought of this spoof trailer The Midnight Coterie of Sinister Intruders created by SNL and the Wes Anderson film Moonrise Kingdom. I pitched the concept of this movie trailer styled Mitzvah film and much to my delight, they loved the idea. “Sounds ambitious, but I think it will be awesome!”, said mom Sarah.
We immediately went to work and my writing partner Karen and I came up with a script that we all loved that was the right combination of quirky homage and personalized. We rented a cabin at Bill Fredrick Park at Turkey Lake (the perfect location) and shooting took a full day, plus an additional half day at their home in Orlando. I lucked out and my longtime editor and camera operator Robert Ducat happened to be in town (he now resides in Germany), and my other production associate Jordan was available to play the quirky camp counselor, Pam. Shooting this was a blast, and editing was even more fun and I’m really happy with how this Wes Anderson Mitzvah video homage turned out.
(On a side note, this is not our only Mitzvah video concept film coming this fall — just wait until December)
We hope you enjoy it!
P.S. Much to my delight, not only did the family love it, the audience did, too.