I started working on this project without even realizing it. That was back when I first fell in love with cinema. I was charmed by the idea that humanity created an art form to mimic the very thing we struggle to master. We invented movies because we love life so deeply—and because there is truly nothing better than observing it from a distance.
I bought my first camera in 2017, as I thought then for making movies.
Obviously, a lot more than just a camera was needed. But it gave a start to my photo journey. I didn’t want to document life. I wanted to study how cinema imitates life. I wanted to fool people and make them fall in love.
But cinema is not a solo journey. It requires a team, lights, actors, staging and all. And I found out that once you have a camera, life does all the rest for you.
You sit in your hotel room with a packed suitcase, trying to figure out the perfect time to leave for the airport — neither too early to avoid wandering around duty-free looking at price tags, nor so late that you have to sprint with your suitcase.
You light up a cigarette, look out the window, and there is the light set by the best gaffer in the world. He lit the whole street and left. Man, it is a good light. And then, as if someone gives a cue to actors whose names you are never going to know, they perfectly enter the frame. And they nail their scene. There’s no chance for a second take. Not going to happen. At this moment, you better have a camera in your hand.
So I started hunting for such moments.
This photo project includes 24 frames, and it is my tribute to the art of cinema. These photos were captured since 2017, at different times, in different countries, on different mediums. But all in search of the same thing.