Anti-Berlusconi protest in Milan – January 29th, 2011.
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Anti-Berlusconi Protest in Milan
A documentary about the work of legendary Swedish cinematographer Sven Nykvist, who was a longtime collaborator of Ingmar Bergman.
My favorite anecdote from the documentary, about the filming of Bergman’s Persona (1966):
This past Wednesday, after a long afternoon of editing I rushed to the Forum des Images – a Mecca for any cinephile in the Chatelet area of Paris. The Forum hosts daily screenings, master classes with prominent actors and directors, as well as debates and film classes. British actor Michael Caine was scheduled to hold the first masterclass of 2011 later that evening. As soon as I arrived, I was informed that the event was sold out, so I wandered off to the nearby Bibliothèque du cinéma François Truffaut: a small, glitzy film library that with its spare bookcases, pink neon lamps, and diffused light feels more like a bar lounge than an educational establishment.
Last night I watched for the first time Jean-Pierre Melville’s Le Samourai (1967) a poetic film noir starring a young Alain Delon. I was especially struck by the suspenseful, lyrical first ten minutes of the film – which were completely devoid of dialogue.
On the evening of New Year’s Eve I stared expectantly at the electronic display of my television set – when the four red digits turned from 23:59 to 00:00 I let out a little cry of joy. I couldn’t wait to start again, a new year, a blank slate. 2010 proved to be – quite possibly – my toughest year to date, professionally speaking. A lot of hard work on a project I started two years ago, with not a shred of good news. And it ended in a metaphorical bloodshed: it’s as if I had stepped on a boxing ring to start sparring only to meet a heavyweight champion, intent on pummeling my face. Aw, the joys of meeting French commissioning editors and TV executives! I thought that 2010 could have been ultimately redeemed by the extraordinary experience of working as DP on the film Three Days to See (including a film shoot inside an empty MET), but alas, the last piece of bad news regarding my own film came on December 31st at 3 PM in the afternoon. You got to be kidding me, I thought. And so, I welcomed 2011 with a warm embrace and a burning desire to leave my worries behind and make this new year the best it could possibly be.
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