When Daniel Temons learned he was nominated for the Sun-Gazette’s Person of the Year, he exclaimed in unison with his father Mark Temons, “This is just phenomenal.”

The nomination comes at the end of a prosperous year for the Williamsport filmmaker, author and puppeteer. In September, Daniel’s film “My Puppeteer’s Life Journey: A Daniel Story” debuted on the big screen at the Susquehanna Film Festival (SFF) in Muncy Township.

Daniel wrote, shot and directed “My Puppeteer’s Life Journey” over the course of a year. The film chronicles his life starting with his autism diagnosis as a child and then follows his discovery of the Muppets and puppetry. The film ended up winning the Best Director Award at SFF.

“I was completely shocked because there were so many talented people there and I think those people have so much creativity. For me, I want to help people going through struggles – whether it is autism or self doubt – through the magic of puppetry. The amount of people that I got to meet at the Susquehanna Film Festival was amazing,” said Daniel.

SFF Founder Tim Yasui had a big smile when he announced Daniel’s win to a crowded movie theatre.

“Of the hundreds of submissions we received for the inaugural Susquehanna Film Festival, Daniel’s story and his film stood out amongst the rest as it simply had the most heart – coming from a place deep inside himself and expressed in such an endearing manner with such a heart-warming delivery,” said Yasui. “Rather than working against him, his novice approach as a director simply worked wonderfully in relaying his message of his challenges and his courage to overcome life’s obstacles – no matter what shape or form they may come in.”

Daniel further amplified his voice by penning “My Puppeteer’s Life Journey,” which is now for sale on his website at https://dphtemons1.wixsite.com/mysite.

Daniel’s fascination with puppetry was spurred on after watching the “Muppet Movie” in 1979.

“The first Muppet movie literally changed my entire life because of Jim Henson, who had terrific storytelling. My own movie is inspired by the very first Muppet movie and how to follow your dreams. It is a journey where you meet so many people along this journey and you want to find your rainbow connection,” said 32-year-old Temons.

Daniel credits the Muppets with helping him attain an even bigger achievement. Doctors told Daniel’s parents that it would be unlikely their son would ever speak. According to Daniel, the Muppets gave him his voice.

“When I was watching Sesame Street, the Muppets and Fraggle Rock, they taught me how to speak,” said the puppeteer.

Fast forward to 2020, when The Jim Henson Company learned of Daniel’s talent.

Daniel’s mother Pamela Temons said, “There have been multiple times that the Henson studios have reached out. My husband doesn’t take no easily and he reached out to the Henson company and got Daniel on their radar. In 2020, Mark got a phone call from them and they said ‘We want Daniel to keep following his dreams and keep working on making puppets and making videos.'”

From there, Daniel was invited by The Jim Henson Company to tour their studios in Los Angeles and Burbank in California.

“It was pretty incredible and I met Kevin Clash, who performs Elmo on Sesame Street,” said Daniel.

He also met Brian Henson, Jim Henson’s son, who is now chairman of the board of directors at The Jim Henson Company.

Inspired by his West Coast journey, Daniel continued to master his puppeteer and video skills by posting to his Youtube channel, D.T. Channel Studio.

“I couldn’t have done this without the help from my friends and family and the Lord above. The Lord is such a terrific storyteller,” said Daniel.

Yasui believes Daniel is well deserving of the nomination for Williamsport Sun-Gazette’s person of the year.

He said, “In dealing with the topic of Autism, he shed a light on an affliction that so many others deal with privately or publicly, and his film leaves one with an important sense of hope – and not dread – which this country needs more than ever now!”