Two Very Different Lives

Right. Nothing like a bit of selfish, shameless self promotion to revive my ailing blog blight.

This is an interview I shot back in May in East Oakland, California. I drove by a tenant eviction protest and stopped to talk to the protesters – of which Gordon was one. It is a one take, spontaneous interview. Gordon is a homeless diabetic. He was on his way to hospital having recently lost his right leg he was now worried that he was about to lose the other to infection. The interview has heightened poignancy as on several occasions we were interrupted by 7 yr old Kavere who wanted to tell us all about dinosaurs. The connection between man and boy is galling in parts – the harsh reality of Gordon’s situation versus the magic of Kavere’s world.  As I left I felt compelled to give Gordon a hug. I knew when he said “I’ll be around somewhere” he had unspoken concern that he may not make it. Me too. I appreciated his warmth and honesty and will never forget him.   I was actually there to shoot something else at the time – a music video for Cornershop featuring Turf Feinz. You can’t see that film yet as it won’t be released until 2012 but you can see this: