Back in 2012, I met Nanni Moretti in his office, and the meeting changed my life. Forever. Moretti has that power, to change the course of things with his cinema. I’d watched ‘We Have a Pope’ in Abu Dhabi and not long after, I decided I needed to meet him face to face. In person, he was what he is in the movies. Nothing more, nothing less. Cranky, at times mean, and then, once I’d slammed my fist onto his desk because he wasn’t paying attention to my questions, he became a talkative, kind and attentive interview.
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Illustrator Eduard Erlikh: What Fashion Dreams Are Made Of
Do you believe in magic? I do, because I have experienced it inside the home of master illustrator Eduard Erlikh.
On a particularly chilly NYC afternoon, I step into his building after the chaos of downtown, and then out of his private elevator. I'm instantaneously transported to another world: a minimalistic, fairy-tale land where things harmoniously sit where they belong, objects in different shades of pigment blend in creative and complimentary combinations and space does not appear to be at the typical premium it is in the Big Apple.
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Abel founder Frances Shoemack
Olfactory Miracle: A Journey Through Scent and Selection with Abel’s Frances Shoemack
At the moment, most of us find ourselves observing “Social Distancing”. But even at a yard from each other, don’t we wish to be remembered for how delicious we smelled, not how poorly?
So I’m revisiting this interview from 2017 with Frances Shoemack of Abel, a beautiful brand with a selection of delicious scents, you can find online here.
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Photo by Donald Sorrie
"Love and Other Feelings": Stephen Miller featured at the Hidden Cabaret in the Secret Room
It takes a lot to make New Yorkers come out on a chilly, rainy February school night. Yet the Secret Room, a cool, copper piped themed club in a basement on Eighth Avenue, just steps away from Times Square, was jam packed this past Monday night. Everyone was buzzing with excitement as we waited to watch and listen to the talents that would assemble on stage to perform “Love and Other Feelings at the Hidden Cabaret”.
I was there to watch Stephen Miller’s return to the stage, after 20 years spent on the producing side and in academia. Miller is a wondrous man with a taste of sequin jackets that highlight his tall frame. His boyish smile and confident stance complete the magic of this performer who was clearly born to be on a stage. The Hidden Cabaret proved that.
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A Conversation with Stanley Tucci about his 'Final Portrait'
Sitting down with Stanley Tucci naturally turned into a highlight of my 2017 Berlinale festival experience but I have to say his beautifully shot and sublimely acted film ‘Final Portrait’ keeps finding new nooks and crannies inside my thoughts and now, even a permanent place in my heart.
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Filmmaker Rithy Panh in Qatar, photo courtesy of the Doha Film Institute
“Cinema has a responsibility”: An interview with Rithy Panh
Meeting Cambodian documentary filmmaker Rithy Panh in Doha, during their annual Qumra event, was a real treat for someone who believes in the power of cinema with a conscience. Apart from the Doha Film Institute's wonderful meeting of talents held within the Souq Waqif and inside the Museum of Islamic Art each March and now in its fifth edition, Panh's presence felt historic. He was a Qumra Master in 2017, came back to teach a short documentary lab at the Institute in the summer of 2018, and now is back as a Mentor -- patiently watching works in progress and meeting with filmmakers to share his wisdom.
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Sending healing vibes to Khaled El Nabawy -- The Actor and the Activist
Back in 2012, I met Egyptian superstar Khaled El Nabawy at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival. He was there with an Arab-American co-production and we sat down with his director and co-star during a sun filled afternoon, in an empty coffee shop inside the Emirates Palace hotel. It was an otherworldly moment that heralded the start of a beautiful friendship.
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Sir Patrick Stewart at the Dubai International Film Festival, photo by Getty Images courtesy of DIFF
The Ultimate Sir Patrick Stewart: To boldly go where no journalist has gone before
It is obvious upon first meeting him that Sir Patrick Stewart is a man of contradictions. The young boy born in Mirfield who grew up in a poor household in Jarrow fraught with domestic violence is now an elegant gentleman at once stoic and kind. His proper Queen’s English is what one notices at once, making all attempts by this journalist to sound intelligent in his presence invalid. And yet Stewart admits that in his youth “you wouldn’t have understood me if you heard me talk, I spoke with not just an accent — we had a dialect, so we used other words as well.” He proceeds to make an example which of course, sounds like he’s speaking a foreign tongue, not even English anymore.
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Listen to the full interview with 'Star Trek: Picard' star Patrick Stewart
He is the officially retired Professor X from the Wolverine series, Captain Picard in ‘Star Trek’ and now the CBS spin-off ‘Star Trek: Picard’. He has been a Shakespearean actor as well as Poop Daddy in ‘The Emoji Movie’ — I guess you could call Sir Patrick Stewart versatile.
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Angels and no regrets: An interview with Lebanese Oscar-winning composer Gabriel Yared
In 2016 I caught up with Academy Award winning composer Gabriel Yared. This year, at the Rome Film Festival, I was awed by his background music for ‘Judy’ — the film which might garner Renee Zellweger an Oscar. His notes take us, the audience, through the later part of Judy Garland’s life and into her inner struggles. They are subtly unobtrusive, just as a background score should be. And that’s the genius of Yared’s work. Please read on for the original interview, published in the HuffPost.
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“I’m Constantly Not on the Right Side of History”: An interview with Chloé Zhao
This month, the Criterion Channel is programming ‘Songs My Brothers Taught Me’, the debut feature by wondrous filmmaker Chloé Zhao. I got to interview her in Cannes for her second feature ‘The Rider’ and it was published originally on the HuffPost. Here it is now, a bit shortened and re-edited. And don’t forget to watch ‘Songs My Brothers Taught Me’ on January 15th.
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Rachid Bouchareb at Berlinale 2016: "Peace Should Be a Subject Taught in Schools"
I find that there is a leitmotif running through three-time Oscar nominated filmmaker Rachid Bouchareb’s work. It’s the idea that peace is fragile, no matter how idyllic the setting of your life, there could always be something threatening to invade it, to destroy the status quo.
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Claes Bang as 'Dracula' on BBC and Netflix is a sight to behold
Premiering just the the new year and decade begin next week, BBC’s ‘Dracula’ starring Claes Bang promises to be quite the thrill. It’s from the makers of the cool ‘Sherlock’ which starred Benedict Cumberbatch and turned the English sleuth into a sex symbol for many of us.
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Alexander Siddig: Rediscovering the uncommon hero, and villain, 8 years later
A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away, I met and got to know TV and movie star Alexander Siddig. Recently, I got to watch him in what is his most terrifying interpretation as Ahmed Suidani in Netflix’ ‘The Spy’. As much as I loved him as the romantic lead and even the wondrous father who loves at all costs — see the interview below — I must admit that Suidani suits Siddig to a “T”. Please watch the series if you haven’t already.
Following is an interview from those many moons ago when Siddig, Sid to his friends, played Miral’s father, in Julian Schnabel’s beautiful film — one I’ll always defend to the victory. One day, maybe, possibly, I’ll tell the whole story of this fascinating human being. But maybe not, as some things are better left unsaid. And unwritten.
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Olivier Assayas at the Rome Film Festival -- Photo by Ernesto S. Ruscio/Getty Images courtesy of the Rome Film Festival
The Fascinating Olivier Assayas at this year's Rome Film Festival
Olivier Assayas is a filmmaker who also happened to have been a film critic. He's a French auteur who also spoke to journalists in perfect Italian while at the recent Rome Film Festival. He is a man born in the mid-50's who looks and dresses like he could be 40-something, as well as a revered name in world cinema who admits that film students today have created their own relationship with movies thanks to the internet. He makes for a fascinating read.
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John Travolta, photo courtesy of the Rome Film Festival
Five questions for John Travolta at the Rome Film Festival
Earlier last week, onstage, John Travolta appeared at ease, elegant and way younger than his 65 years. I mean, all newly bald headed and such, still how does he do it?? Maybe it was the leather jacket, maybe his calm demeanor and philosophy of life or maybe just his contentment at being a superstar — and obviously loving it! There is none of that tormented famous person attitude, or apologizing for having become a household name so young. No, Travolta is the actor and the actor is the superstar — no apologies needed or required.
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'Tibet in Song' by Ngawang Choephel celebrates its 10 year anniversary at the Rubin in NYC
Back in 2009, I was privileged to see an advance screening of the film ‘Tibet in Song’ by Ngawang Choephel in NYC and was absolutely mesmerized by Tibet’s breathtaking views, its people’s courage and beauty and its filmmaker’s strength and resilience in the face of adversity. I know that after watching ‘Tibet in Song’ I would try to never again complain about a rainy day I have to spend inside and I would respect my Tibetan brothers and sisters only that much more! I mean, the fashions and jewelry alone have made me a fan of Tibet but their courage made me a lifetime supporter. Back then, I caught up with Choephel and he shared some of his insight into this very personal journey of a film.
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Alice Rohrwacher, photo by © Fabio Lovino
Alice Rohrwacher on why she's not making documentaries, the talisman in names & casting her Lazzaro
As I sit with a group of journalists surrounding Alice Rohrwacher, on an open terrace in Cannes, there is a dog howling and barking, far in the background. I giggle to myself as I seem to be the only person noticing it and because in her film ‘Lazzaro Felice’ (‘Happy as Lazzaro’) she features a wolf who is quite central to the story. This sound in the distance brings a whole otherworldly, almost magical element to our chat and if she does anything with her films, Rohrwacher proves a purveyor of magic through the lens.
This week, Rohrwacher descends on Doha to become a Master during their annual Qumra event. The Doha Film Institute is also about magic, and they make theirs happen behind the scenes by bringing together the crème de la crème of international filmmakers, producers, film curators, programmers, sales agent and festival directors to create a cinematic tsunami that is bound to be felt around the world. It is five days and nights of jam packed cinematic networking as well as constant learning, through their Masterclasses, lectures and mentorship, as well as over fine local dishes at working breakfasts, lunches and dinners.
From where I stand, the partnership seemed inevitable between Rohrwacher and the DFI.
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Lady Melissa Percy wears the “Fonzie Jumper”
An Affair of Substance: Lady Melissa Percy and Mistamina
There is something about Lady Melissa Percy that reminds me of a young Katherine Hepburn. Aside from both being tall and slim, they don’t share actual physical traits as much as the ability to look glamorous and feminine in casual, sporty clothes. What both women of course do share is a love of the outdoors, sports and the similarities could continue beyond that.
Glamour to me has always been an affair of substance over style and it’s clear Lady Percy, Missy to her friends, embodies that wholeheartedly.
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Roberto Saviano at Zuccotti Park during the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations, photo by © Umberto Nicoletti
Roberto Saviano, wins Silver Bear at Berlinale, but here he was in an earlier interview
Roberto Saviano, to any Italian, is a figure that we constantly re-evaluate. I started out being completely taken by his apparent courage and in fact wrote the piece below after meeting him in secret in NYC. I named it “The Face of Courage” for the Huffington Post.
These days, his police protection magically gone, even though the Camorra is still going strong, he’s written the screenplay for an award winning film at Berlinale, and I am starting to doubt his intentions. Or even his provenance. When I wanted to catch up again with the writer and TV personality, he dismissed me on a couple of occasions. But regardless of my own experiences and thoughts about Saviano, this interview I conducted with him in NYC in 2012 is a great testament to something. I just have to figure out what… My good writing perhaps?
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