Sounds Like Portraits

"There is a balance that must be struck when one is an expert at something. There is the pressure to share your gifts at the whim of others, which requires the ability to bend to their demands. Then there is the need to express one's own substance with the talent that has been honed."

When I sat with Romain, he told me that, all his life he has tried to dig in most parts of himself to try to find a truth that he could express through his art. A truth? Listen to his answer. 

Toute sa vie, Patrick a toujours essayé de rêver, d'aller au fond du mystère et d'en ramener des mots et des histoires.  

When I sat with Juliana, she told me that she has always tried to give herself room to change and to progress into new spheres. Whether they are emotional, mental or physical. The idea is to be always more open to the world, inside and outside herself.  

I sat with Alandra to understand how it's possible to create poetry on the street upon request. Actually, it always starts with a conversation with the person who wants a poem from him. Then words come in the process that should resonate. Is that inspiration? Listen to his answer.   

J'ai rencontré Théo dans son petit studio du downtown à New York. Je lui ai demandé si monter des images pour le cinéma n'était pas une forme de manipulation ? "C'est comme dans un train, on met le spectateur sur des rails, mais il a toujours la liberté de regarder autour." Ou de fermer les yeux. 

For Noam, there is a limit to expression with just words. Even when we listen to music, there are emotions that we can't put into words. Noam tries to connect with people through music. But how does he create his music to resonate with other human beings? Here's his answers. 

When I sat with Faraï he told me that to be able to hear his inner voice, he has to create a quiet space within himself. That's for sure a challenge for all of us who try to do things creatively. 

J'ai rencontré Alvise dans un salon feutré de l'hôtel Carlyle à New York. Derrière la beauté des intérieurs qu'il conçoit pour ses clients, il a le souci de les comprendre pour leur permettre de se sentir bien chez eux. Un grand pas pour qu'ils se sentent bien en eux-mêmes. 

Sara is connected to the Picasso family. She got married with the master's son Claude. Here, she talks about her Picasso' story and about psychological compensation. Struggling has always been a tremendous part of her story. Now, as a drama therapist, she tries to help people. And here creativity comes in.  

Quand j'ai rencontré Vincent à Paris, il m'a parlé de sa recherche sur la résine de polyester et la translucidité : "Ce n'est pas la transparence, c'est le trouble. Le point de départ de mon travail, c'est le besoin d'une présence qui porte des interrogations". Des interrogations qui n'attendent pas forcément de réponse. 

Bernadette a un autre prénom : Léa. Elle est costumière, mais elle est aussi peintre. Qu'importe, elle a toujours cherché à être elle-même. Elle parle ici des costumes qu'elle créé pour les comédiens, au cinéma et au théâtre. Ils sont la peau de leurs personnages. Et, comme disait Paul Valéry: "Il n'y a rien de plus profond que la peau."   

For Tia, the greatest challenge she had to cope with when she decided to become an actress was the fear of it. Listen to her talking how she dealt successfully with fear. Spoiler: "The trick is just to have, for lack of a better word, faith." 

When I sat with Kelly, he told me how he prepares himself to get into a new character. That's a creative process which is always different from one role to another. 

When I met Carol in a noisy small café in SoHo, I asked her : what drives you when you are inspired? She answered: "Just life itself". Really? 

I met with Camillo at his home in Queens. He told me that his poetry is aural: more sonic than about anything else. He always tries to escape meaning, even if he knows that "meaning sleeps through the cracks".  

When I met Sarah at her place in Brooklyn, she told me that Poetry is for something impossible to accomplish. When she was in the middle of a sentence, she suddenly switched to the second person to talk about her creative process: she can't really talk about it for herself because it's so intimate. Listen to this precious conversation about her inner conversation.