“I will come back and see you soon!” I said while hugging Zaza before leaving for Canada. “You promise?!” Asked Zaza with a smile.
“Of course I will!”
Those were the last words I have ever said to this extraordinary woman…
Barbara Kaufman (Zaza) was a gorgeous soul. A well-known sculptor and artist. Her life was made for books and films, actually the story of the whole family was made for them. Zaza has traveled the globe and danced to her own beat, always.
I was fortunate to have met her and honored to have been able to film her for my very first and her (as it turned out) very last interview. Zaza is a grandmother of my friend, Stacey Gerrish, a very talented writer, photographer, adventurer and story-teller. Stacey really wanted me to meet Zaza one day.
So on our way to Canada, Mr. Bond and I stopped in Vermont. I will always remember 23rd of August 2015.
I shared with Stacey, that I plan to shoot a documentary on 6 continents. After Stacey read the synopsis, she really wanted to ask Zaza to be a part of it, but I had no idea if she would agree. The interview was a spur of the moment kind of thing and I had about 2 minutes to set everything up. Yes, the sound is not as great as it could be, yes, the “noise” of the picture is visible, but those things can be fixed with the right kind of post-production team.
The story and how that story will make people feel – those things matter and those things, can’t be fixed in post-production, no matter how big your budget is.
I don’t know how many years it will take me to film it and I probably won’t make a dime out of it. But that is not why I am doing this. First interview has been shot and I already have a one-way-ticket to Australia at the end of November. I’m selling all my furniture and won’t be back in US for a long time.
With this film I hope to unite all souls of different religions, colors, ages, political ideas, sexual orientation and genders. I want to break down the walls of the cages, that were so masterfully build around us. With this film I wish to erase all of the differences and show how truly similar we all are at our core. This is a Love Revolution.
Working title is “Alêtheia”. (Ancient Greek: ἀλήθεια) is truth or disclosure in philosophy. It was used in Ancient Greek philosophy and revived in the 20th century by Martin Heidegger. It is a Greek word variously translated as “unclosedness”, “unconcealedness”, “disclosure” or “truth”. (Wikipedia)
There are too many people in today’s world doing things out of fear, hate and greed, that is why I am doing this out of love.
This is a journey of love.
***
I am beyond honored that I had a chance to share a day with this lady. At the end of the interview I gave her a big hug and thanked her. She took off her vintage hair clip from Japan and gave it to me. Now I am growing my hair out, so I can wear it. I promised her that I would send her a card from every new country I visit, so when Mr. Bond and I made it to Canada, we send her a post card.
About a week or so later, she did eventually get the card. Stacey read it and described it to her. Zaza passed away on September 13th 2015, she was 97. Zaza was surrounded by her loved ones, her beloved dog Jane and countless memories from her extraordinary life of world travels, that fill every corner of her home.
Here is a short snippet of the interview
WHAT IS LOVE?
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The woman behind Alêtheia …
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