Florin for Esquire

Now with the upcoming Euro 2008 (that is the European Football Championship in Switzerland and Austria, for those of you who were raised thinking football is a game where you keep the ball in your hands and run with it), Esquire thought they should do something involving football. Instead of the classical big shot profile, they went for the wannabe. So here's Florin, a 15 year-old kid who works like crazy to get to be a big player one day. I followed him for a few days on his crazy daily routine (wake up call at 6 in the morning, 4.5 hours on buses back and forth between practice, high school and home).

Petrila

1.Bogdan Stamatin zipps up his jumper as the first drops of rain reach the ground, on a hill in Petrila, Saturday, May 10, 2008. His t-shirt represents the cover of Pink Floyd's Atom Heart Mother album, realeased in 1970.
2.Men drink and play checkers in a bar.

Invincibles' Gala

About a week ago I shot a boxing event, called The Invincibles' Gala.

If Two Is a Crowd

I was on a film set a few days ago and this to me was the representation of how many things you gotta deal with as a director.

Resurrection Night

Two women walk through St. Parascheva cemetery after placing candles on funeral stones in Vatra Dornei, after a religious ceremony, the night before Easter Sunday.

Forced Landing Site

Two girls walk by an enclosed site where a propeller-driven plane had made a forced landing. No one died, though the pilot and the other occupant of the cabin were taken to the ER with some broken limbs.

Police Protest

The Police Union organized a rally followed by a march downtown Bucharest to ask for better working conditions.

Mihai

Mihai, taking a break to decide which bar to go to after rehearsals. He plays the base in a photographers' band.

Blues

Nightlosers' Hanno Hofer, playing the blues at Hard Rock Cafe, as the opening act for Louisiana Red.

Harlem Globetrotters

The Harlem Globetrotters visited the Romanian Parliament (the second largest building in the world) today. This is Slick Willie Shaw.

Right-Wing Rally

An extreme-right group organized a rally in order to counter Hungarian National Day celebrations in Transylvania.

Railroad Strike

The National Railroad Company had a two-hour strike this morning. I went to a village early in the morning and got on a shitty train to Bucharest to make sure I was in the middle of nowhere when the strike would begin. Here's some stuff I saw from the window.

Trabant - Ode to Jero

I'm working - for Esquire - on an essay about Trabant, an old car produced in Eastern Germany, sort of like the cheaper cousin of the VW Beetle.

High Jump

Radu Edit for Esquire

Here's the edit that I gave Esquire for the story on Radu. They chose to run 1,4,9 and 11. I'll post the PDF once the magazine is out.

Nationalized Houses

This lady, Aurelia Bufea, threatened to set herself on fire earlier today because she and her family were evicted from the nationalized house they were living in. A lot of bystanders, including camera crews, cops and kids. Too many kids.

There's Light at the End of the Tunnel

Andreea Balaurea and Luiza Puiu, the few enthusiastic people in this neck of the woods. Al, back to you!

Wedding Fair

Expomariage, a place where you could buy a lot of scary things, such as wedding gowns , rings and shiny invitations.

Railroad Strike

The Romanian Railroad Company had a strike that paralyzed the whole country for a few hours. Here are a few pics from the main train station in Bucharest.

Tu Bishvat

Members of the Romanian Jewish community in Bucharest at the end of the Tu Bishvat ceremony.