Miracle on Central Park West

In making I, Candy I had more stories than there was time for. One that didn't fit the narrative was something that happened to me on Yom Kippur when I was in my early 30’s.

I knew the story would mostly take place on the streets of Manhattan, and because of my experience in I, Candy with the dioramas– combining drawn animation with actual 3-dimentional backgrounds, I wanted to recreate the Upper West Side with animating miniatures. Leon Joosen was just the guy to create papier-maché buildings from recycled milk cartons, cereal boxes and other found objects. I then, with pieces of building photographs, painted the exteriors, inspired by the work of Red Grooms.

John Donnelly, one of the last remaining animation cameramen in New York, had the space and set-up to shoot the buildings, based on my storyboard’s timings.  He also had an amazing assortment of camera lenses and a computerized camera/platform movement system to make it come together.

Debra Solomon, a longtime friend and filmmaker, added the right accent to the old lady and Ellen McCourt did a great job playing my mom. I had no problem playing myself! And Lanny Meyers’ perfect score and Michelle Madias’ sound design brought the whole thing together.

The only disappointment was that it was finally finished just as Covid changed the world, and it hasn’t been seen as much as I would have wished. Now that it’s online, I’m hoping that will change!