Cristian Nemescu: Life as a movie
Because Esquire Romania doesn’t have its own website (yet), I have decided to begin uploading my stories. I will start with one that ran in our first issue, September 2007.
This profile of the late-director Cristian Nemescu is one of the hardest stories I’ve done, both professionally and personally. I was attracted to this man for a few reasons, some of which I spelled out in an interview with Bradut: he was a young man who loved telling stories, he was a strong character despite his fragile appearance, and his death left a profound gap in the lives of his friends and family. Reporting this story was an enormous challenge. Some of his friends were wonderfully honest and sincere, others were understandably skeptical of a reporter digging for intimate details. Interviewing his parents was also hard, as they didn’t think they had anything to add to what had been said (they did - a lot).
There is always good for better reporting and better writing, but at the end of the day I believe that this piece remains the most elaborate piece of journalism done of the director of California Dreamin’.
Click on the imagine below to download the PDF. Opening montage and design: Raymond Bobar.
November 15th, 2007 at 7:07 pm
Uite inca o poveste frumoasa pe care n-o citisem. Pe care o s-o recitesc si pe care n-o s-o uit. Si de care as fi in stare sa vorbesc, daca m-ar intreba cineva ce mi-a placut. Pentru ca ai gasit exact ce altii nu au fost in stare sa caute.
November 16th, 2007 at 11:50 am
Mersi Gabi. Eu sper ca povesti d-astea vei incepe sa spui si tu, alaturi de ceilalti de la curs. Pana la urma sper ca vom reusi sa ne construim o mica armata de oameni care vor (si stiu) sa faca asta. Iar atunci vom fi o masa critica care va spune: “Ah, povestea aia… Merita sa o citesti!”
November 16th, 2007 at 1:39 pm
go cristi!
November 17th, 2007 at 10:52 pm
Chiar vroiam sa-mi rog o prietena sa-mi scaneze articolul cu Nemescu si sa mi-l trimita pe mail. Ma gandisem la un moment dat sa iti dau un mail si sa te intreb daca ai pdf-ul… Asa ca postul asta a fost fix ceea ce imi doream sa citesc! Multumesc!
December 13th, 2007 at 7:57 pm
Hello. I’m wondering if I could talk to you a bit more about this article, specifically to find out if there is an English version out there in the ether somewhere.
Cristian was a remarkable filmmaker whose short oeuvre will be studied for a long time. Unfortunately, as is the case of many eastern European filmmakers, they receive little press here in the states.
I can’t seem to locate your e-mail address to inquire directly, but would love to hear from you whether or not their is an English language version available.