Here is an interview that I conducted with Secrets of Llewellyn Park Director William Davis:
Nigrin: In your documentary film Secrets of Llewellyn Park, which mixes contemporary stories with history, demonstrating that the vibrant life of the park goes on, as a refuge from the busy world outside the gates. Tell us about what brought about the making of this film.
Davis: The day after my family moved into Llewellyn Park in 2012, we attended one of the park social events, an Oktoberfest. There I met photographer Bill Westheimer, who knew I was a filmmaker and asked if I’d be interested in making a film about the park. He explained how the park has an interesting history dating to the 1850’s, yet almost no one knows about it. I thought this would be a great opportunity to meet people and become part of the community, so I agreed. Bill collaborated as my friend and producer, and for the next two years we searched for stories, filmed interviews, and flew drones above the park.
Nigrin: In your film there is the nefarious tale about Thomas Edison and how he acquired his house as well as the day the elephants came to the park. Tell us a bit more about these and other stories viewers can expect when they come to see your film.
Davis: For fifty years, Thomas Edison was the “nice man down the street”, and some of the older residents we spoke to remembered him well. When he would attend a party and things got dull, he would stand on his head and wiggle his ears, and was referred to as the “garden party entertainment”. In addition to the historical stories, we found a few new ones: the tunnel that runs under the house long rumored to be part of the Underground Railroad, the Olympic ice dancers who live in the park and agreed to perform on the frozen fish pond, the famous classic car collection that lives in a barn inside the park, and the aggressive turkeys who intimidate everyone regardless of social standing.
Nigrin: How long did it take you to make this film and how you were able to tackle such a huge undertaking?
Davis: It was two years from the first tentative experiments to final color correction and mix. Between Bill Westheimer and I, we had the hardware and the expertise to produce a film, including cameras, editing equipment, microphones, and lights. We did buy a drone just for the production. The entire process happened inside Llewellyn Park.
Nigrin: Were there any memorable stories while you made this film or any other info about your film you can relay to our readers?
Davis: When Llewellyn Park was first laid out, it was a rough mountainside surrounded by farmland. It’s creator, Llewellyn Haskell, envisioned a paradise, a park that people could live in. As the years went by, the city crept up to the walls of the park and then surrounded it, but inside Haskell’s vision flourished. Today, Llewellyn Park is a green oasis surrounded by urban sprawl. Just 12 miles from Manhattan, its residents share not only the history of the park, but the beauty and serenity first envisioned by its creator. As one of the residents says, “Every time I enter the park I want to sing”. I know exactly what she means.
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Secrets of Llewellyn Park will be screened with three other great films on Saturday, June 13. Here is more info on this program:
Waste Paper – Derrick Pete (Aliso Viejo, California) A cartoon illustration, thrown away by its Animator, enters a world where the other throw-aways live. He and a newfound friend decided to battle the Animator, to avoid a fate worse than death. 2015; 8 min. With an introduction and Q+A session by Director Derrick Pete!
Cinderella, A Shadow Ballet – White Widow (Los Angeles, California)
The musical artist White Widow “re-invents” the classic fairy-tale film Cinderella, created in 1922 by animation pioneer Lotte Reiniger, with a new narration and orchestration. Delving into psychological struggles, White Widow uses shadow, light, and sound to represent Cinderella’s psyche. As Cinderella confronts her repressed self to find her inner light, the film transforms Reiniger’s original silhouettes into a modern and mysterious shadow ballet. 2015; 14 min.
Keeper of the Past – Marco J. Riedl (Bochum, Germany)
In this supernatural thriller, a farmer named Finn van Hagen begins a new life with his wife and his children way out in the country. An old, idyllic farm...in the middle of nowhere...to his eyes, this a perfect world. One day a stranger appears, out of the blue, and tries to draw out a well-kept secret from Finn’s daughter Verlanda: the whereabouts of a music box, in which Finn’s past lies hidden. If Finn should ever open the music box, he might not only lose his family, but also the world as he knows it. In German, subtitled. 2014; 29 min.
Secrets of Llewellyn Park – William Davis (West Orange, New Jersey) From a ghost story; to a visit inside a castle; to the nefarious tale about Thomas Edison and how he acquired his house; to the day the elephants came to the park; to a meeting with the killer turkeys, who terrorize the entrance, Secrets of Llewellyn Park mixes contemporary stories with history, demonstrating that the vibrant life of the park goes on, as a refuge from the busy world outside the gates. 2014; 40 min. With an introduction and Q+A session by Director William Davis!
Saturday, June 13, 2015 at 7:00 p.m.
Voorhees Hall #105/Rutgers University
71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, New Jersey
$10=General; $9=Students+Seniors; $8=Rutgers Film Co-op Friends
Information: (848) 932-8482; www.njfilmfest.com
Free Food courtesy of Jimmy Johns of New Brunswick will be given out prior to this screening of the New Jersey International Film Festival!
