Fresh off a plane in Warsaw, Myself and the others are greeted by Thomas, the president of Warsaw's Pride Organization. We are then wisked off to the flat where we are to stay and given a glass of red to toast our arrival, thats all good, but I am starving... and being in Poland I'm on a mad hunt for a plate of perogies and a vodka on the rocks.
In the center of town at 11pm on a tuesday, is kind of like being in the suburbs on a tuesday looking to find a place that will still serve you food. The scenery is beautiful none the less, old buildings and interesting architecture overhang different layouts of winding streets and closed shops. I waste no time and snap off a few pics with my camera phone.... as you may recall, my real camera was stolen in Brazil.
The first restaurant we visit is closing... same with the second and the third... By now the idea of perogies, has diminished and I will be OK with just eating. We settle on chinese food..... Brilliant, I'm in Poland and eating Chinese, but the twist is that in Poland, there exist a large population of Vietnamese people. The guy behind the counter is vietnamese and speaks little Polish to boot. So in english, we ask Thomas, to translate the menu... he then orders from another man that speaks broken polish... he then translates that to vietnamese for the cook..... Holy shit, I don't even have the patience to order any additions or try to de-cypher the menu. We eat...... But no Perogies.
Ken and myself are shacked up in one flat, Bob and Morris are in another on the opposite side of town..
I wake up on a pull-out Ikea bed, and know that something is not right..... either I slept in an awkward position, and my right shoulder hurts..but will soon go away... Or.. my right shoulder that i separated two years ago is coming back to haunt me .....
Sending a text message to Morris, results in no response.... Stooopid overseas phone carriers.... We are in possession of multiple computers but without an internet connection. That sucks... I ask Ken if he knows the address of where we are suppose to meet at 10am... he hasn't a clue, nor do I.... That too sucks... I dial Thomas's number he gave me... it is not working...that sucks... I dial Bob... nothing... Morris.. nothing... Ken and I are in Warsaw Suburbia without a clue.... The only address I have is the place which we are staying and a phonetic pronunciation of the street.... Ulica Sachocka ( O-leesa Son-Whok-Ska )
Finding what I presume to be a number for a taxi, I devise a plan.... Call a taxi to pick us up, and use my iPhone to show some of the pictures of the area where we were last night... from there we can navigate to where it is we need to be... This is going to work... it is our only hope... Otherwise I haven't a clue.
Calling the taxi number only results in more problems... They speak english ( very little... practically non) I then proceed to ask for a taxi to our street, only problem is they cannot understand my Polish pronunciation of Ulica Sachocka.... they hang up on me... I call back... still they cannot understand me..... Hang up, Call back..... nothing... My Polish is terrible.
New plan..... get on foot... flag a cab.. show the driver the pictures on the phone... I'm in. -----> Brad....... Hair-brain scheme.... totally.
Now where do we go to find a taxi ???
Aimlessly wandering the streets of Warsaw leads us to in outdoor market of sorts... By sorts, I mean ramshackled huts that sell pillow-casings, shapoo and fresh strawberries. The one good sign is that there are people, at least fifty, and with crowds of people.. usually one can find a taxi. Standing on the street corner, Ken with his shoulder bag, myself, with an expensive camera pulling at my right shoulder, which still hurts, we wave at every passing cab. Most of them shake their heads at us... ???? Five roll on by, with nobody inside but the driver, and still we get only a head-shake as they pass us. Twenty minutes later and we are picked up. Phase one of my plan is complete. We get inside the cab.. Ken then says, "English ???" The response is a simple, "no." Out comes the iPhone and the pictures which I took the previous night. Putting on the glasses the driver nods his head, I use my hands to motion that there is a round-a-bout in front of the building .... I didn't know at the time if he knew what I was doing or not, but it appeared to be working so i went with it. I was given a thumbs up, we were on our way. I do hope we are going to the right area, otherwise we are as the english say, "proper fucked." Phase Two, complete... ???
We are dropped off in the exact area in which I took the picture..... I can not believe that actually worked.
Venturing to our meeting point, Bob and Morris are already there ( they took a tram, had a map.... obviously the brains of the operation.) With the smarts and area knowledge of Bobby Love, I quickly input every address that we may need into my iPhone, figure out how to make calls on my phone, and learn that the 4 was actually a 2 in Thomas's phone number. Perfect. Now, I must hang on to this iPhone for dear life.
I still can not believe I made it here with only a picture.... did I mention I love technology.
Day one is the usual, setup a plan, stick to it.... We plan to shoot establishing shots throughout the city the following day,but for now, administration and organization. As I sit in the office, I realize more and more that my shoulder is killing.... I'm talking huge pain... and its 10am... 1pm rolls around and the pain is shooting through my entire body.... I'm sweating, and I cannot sit still. **side note.... This is the same shoulder I separated two years ago snowboarding. Now traveling as a hand-held camera operator with a crew of gay men, I'm bound to receive a bit of sympathy... Usually if I feel sick, pain, or any other discomfort.... the last thing on my mind is visiting the doctor.... but when I cannot raise a glass of vodka on the rocks to my own lips, something has to be done. Next thing you know, I'm using my medical insurance program sitting in a Doctors office with Martin, who is going act as my translator. By the time I'm out of there, I've got a prescription for some kickass pain killers and a sling. I use the sling for a day a double the dose of the meds....... back in business baby.
As our first day in Poland comes to an end, Ken and I flag down a cab and use my iPhone to show our driver the street name of where it is we want to go.... He shrugs as if he does not know the urban address... We exit that cab, enter another, show the address on the phone.... Make it back to the flat. I forgot to mention that throughout my travels of the day, I acquired an inflatable mattress to use in place of a kinked out Ikea bed... So back in the flat I attach a cardboard tube ( empty TP roll ) to a hair dryer, inflate the mattress and I'm setup for a good nights sleep in no time. Love it.
Day two is sight seeing.... and rolling on shots of Warsaw Poland, which will later be used in editing of this portion of our trip. Markets, streets, buildings.... blah...blah...blah..... TOURIST stuff... you know it, you love it. Meanwhile, I'm operating a camera to the point of pain in my shoulder.... At times I had to hand off the camera to Morris... the international man of mystery. More meds... time in my arm sling....... Back in business baby..... gimme back that camera!!!
Night hits, we all crash out for a bit and meet downtown at an Ice Bar..... Basically there are only five of these in Europe. Now If you asking yourself, Josh... what the hell is an ice bar???? It is very simple, it is a bar that is inside a giant freezer, the bar is ice, the walls are ice, tables, stools, benches, glassware, sculptures.....Ice Not to mention, it is decked out with a kick ass lighting system that illuminates various walls of ice..... Very cool.... no pun intended. They even give you silver arctic jackets to wear.... unfortunately it is thursday and we are the only ones in the ice bar..... This place is dead anyways...
Club lemon, 24 hour bar and restaurant.... We are introduced to the Mad Dog shot. Vodka, raspberry juice and.... tobasco. Very strange, but totally kickass.... and you cannot order just one, they come in two's... Few of those, a few other shots we have never heard of, more drinks and food. Primed.
Bob, Morris and Ken are fired up, me as everyone knows... alcohol has no effect on me... So I'm examining the situation.... Three mildly sauced gay men in Poland during Pride Week.... They are going to a gay bar... no doubt.... Now being in Poland for the first time in my life, I have to go to a normal club.... for I know a handful of Polish girls, and I know one thing about them..... Marta...Hot, Pati... Hot, Ania... Hot, MJ.... Hot, Asia....Hot, Monica...Hot. I'm definitely going to a straight club..... solo.
My first club is the club beneath where we are eating.... Club Lemon.... Euro dance music... Yikes.... But I do get pulled in by this tanked Polish girl who feeds me three shots... and starts talking to me in Polish... I smile and nod... Then say, "Do you speak english ?"... She gives me a funny look and turns away..... I'll take that as a no.
I leave club lemon.
Finding my way to club Platinum.... The sign says the bar closed at 2am on thursday... its 2:15.... Dammit... But I can hear music still ??? Something is going on in there... I know it. I ask the doorman, where should I go.... he obviously does not understand english, but he motions for me to go around back. I nod and go around a dark corner... music is getting louder, I enter through what appears to be an office building.... louder music, I hang a right into a courtyard....More music.. I'm getting closer, A big Black curtain... that is partially open... I can see lights...people, and I hear music. I open the curtain to find the back club... what the bouncer was talking about... and yes it is full of good looking Polish girls. I drink Vodka and dance.... I figure, nobody knows me... So I'm just going to dance, what the hell. It beats dancing in room full of sweaty gay men. Next thing you know I am dancing with a polish girl... a blonde polish girl.... perfect.
So I've danced with a beautiful polish girl and drank polish vodka.... All I have left to do is get a plate of perogies. So that is what I set out to do.... at 4am. It sounded like a good idea at the time.
The sun is up... I wander the streets of Warsaw in search of perogies... One would think that with the popularity of perogies they would have street vendors selling that shit outside of clubs... kind of like street meat... 4am perogies and a pepsi... not a bad idea.... I ask passing by people in my sober-est english dialect... "perogies ?" They speak in polish and point, "Thanks!!" I reply..... what the hell did they just say??? These language barriers are killing me.
I nicks the idea of perogies once again and jump in a taxi.. Fumbling for my iPhone which has the only address where I can safely go, I show the driver. He puts on a pair of glasses to read it.... It seems all the cab drivers need glasses... yet none of them wear them on a regular basics..... sketchy. He hasn't a clue.... shakes his head.... So I get out, back to the streets iPhone in hand. Time passes and I manage to hail another cab, show him the address and he gives me the nod. Good..... On my home to get some sleep, the sun is out, its bright, so I recall my taxi etiquette from Brazil.... I slap the passenger seat and say, "Vamos!!"....... .... ... nothing. ..... the driver stares at me, I slump back down into the seat ...........Wrong country.
I'm up at 10.... Full of pain killers and advil....ready to shoot. We all meet at the Warsaw Pride office, Bob, Morris and Ken are all typing away on their computers..... This is my chance, I have yet to eat breakfast, so I stay low as to not be detected and make my way outside and down the street. I stop at a small shop and order a big plate of perogies...... sweet success. I'm ready to go home..... Oh yeah, I still have to shoot a Gay Pride parade... that is why I'm here in the first place.
We spend the day shooting interviews with people in the gay movement, and end at a large awards event.... after a day of shooting, all are tired and we decide to wrap camera a 11pm.
I again use my iPhone to show our driver where it is we want to go. My Polish still is not up to par with my mastering of Russian..... Ok, so I can say thank you in both languages.... That only gets one so far.
My 4th Gay Pride Parade in the last month. Las Vegas, Sao Paulo, Moscow......... Warsaw.
Initially, I was mildly disappointed with Warsaw, not too much was happening, and the pride organization did not really say too much to on us on camera. On the day, we headed to the point in the city where the parade was to begin, and what we were in the midst of was the purpose Bobby Love had brought us here. Riot Police...Full on... Shields, helmets, and pressurized backpacks for tear gassing and they were surrounding and retaining groups of skin heads, protesters and nationalists ----- still not quite sure what or who these nationalists are.. Police were everywhere, down back alleys, in corridors, doorways, small groups, large groups..... They were everywhere. This is awesome I thought. I fire up the camera trying to catch as much of the action as possible. Groups of skinheads, holding large banners, jump up and down as they protest against the parade... they shout, scream, but to my amazement they are completely none violent... Highly due to the presence of the police none the less.
The parade begins, and much like Sao Paulo, the entire crowd moves along side of the floats. A giant police barricade escorts the whole parade movement as it makes its way through the streets. To our surprise, the floats are full of people dancing.... Prior to the beginning of the parade, a supreme court judge had ruled that no people were to be on the floats while they were in motion.... basically a giant ploy to hinder the efforts of the pride foundation. But somehow, which we later learned was in result of some research Thomas completed, Participants were allowed to ride atop of the floats as they moved through the streets.... pretty cool stuff. People danced to the music, marched, and made their way down the city streets. Ken, being uber creative, hung a Vancouver Pride Society banner, canadian flags, and of course a rainbow flag off this giant plastic rod that was given to him by this crazy dyke Claire who talked....a lot. He also waved a large Canadian flag which attracted tons of media, with such questions as to why he was here.... and like in Russia and Brazil, Ken Coolen will never shy away from any opportunity to openly speak his mind on camera, particularly about the politics of pride. Ken, with the help of Lola, proudly represented the support of Canada in the Warsaw Parade. In the end, the parade had attracted about 5000 people, a considerable number considering four years ago this parade was completely illegal in Warsaw, and close to 1000 police officers. The parade had gone off as planned, and again we were there to witness and be a part of this celebration.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Monday, June 2, 2008
Moscow, Russia
I wake-up on the cold marble floor of Frankfurt Airport, and momentarily forget where I am or where I am going. To my left is Ken and Morris... just as asleep as I previously was. We are in the midst of a five hour layover on our way to Moscow, Bobby Love... wearing his super sweet suit jacket ( At an attempt to attract the gay mafia ) refuses to join the likes of us tired riff-raff sprawled about the floor in Germany. He paces eagerly, and constantly monitors his watch.
We have been in Transit to Russia now for 12 hours, freshly after arriving home from Brazil... and yet, we have five hours left until we get to our final destination by way of airplane to taxi. I grab a bottle of water and prepare for the last leg.
Moscow is an extremely strange and different place.
Arriving at our hotel, we set out to get some food at one of the 24 hour restaurants. It's 2:15 AM, we are starving, thirsty, tired and irritable. Our server approaches and we find out that the existing beer menu, which contains seven types of beers, has only two kinds which we could order, Hoegarden or Dark. To top things off, the greek salad I order is unable to be ordered with a breast of chicken, but clearly their exist a caesar salad with chicken - but this place is soo communist that I cannot order anything different, or make substitutions..... Dammit, if this is what the rest of the week has in store for me.... I'm not going to be happy.
Day One consists of us heading straight to the Red Square and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. At present, these places are significant as they are the sights of Gay Russia's previous attempt at a public display of individuality, which was met with police and civilian hositility towards their ideals.
- Brief Project History -
The reason our documentary set out to explore the homosexual politics of Moscow, Russia, relates back to Nikolai, A Russian activist who our crew met in Sao Paulo. To date, Ken Coolen, has been in contact with Nikolai for a little over a year via email, and followed his actions through his website... This interest was spawned from a documentary Ken was exposed to that detailed previous attempts at a Pride parade in Russia, headed by Nikolai, that were met with government aggression and physical violence. The events and actions that were shown in this video were so unbelievably de-humaninizing and un-nessarily violent, that Ken has spent the greater portion of the last year in conjunction with his long time best friend Bobby 'Love' Christie, trying to figure out what actions could be taken to bring incidents like this forward to public knowledge. Hence this documentary we are in the midst of shooting.
Morris, being the international man of mystery he is, happens to be friends with the Son of the representative of the Russian Canadian Consulate. Next thing you know we are being invited to an informal dinner at the consulate for friday night. I bring a shirt and tie and polish my shoes with the electric shoe polisher in the hotel lobby.
The Canadian Consulate of Russia is housed within a building that dates back to the beginning of the 20th century, the exterior is well kept and a large Canadian flag blows freely above the door. Checking in, we show our passports and are escorted to a general meeting room where notable people involved in Russian media and human rights are gathered awaiting our arrival. Champagne and appetizers are served as everyone talks amongst another and I can't help but wonder what the hell I am doing here. Clearly the youngest person present, I hold my composure and limit my words to that of intelligent antic-dotes and previous experience as an international camera operator. I think I successfully tricked a few people into believing that I was a sophisticated individual... hahahaa . gotcha.
Giant white doors are swung open revealing a massive strategically set table as our host invites all of us to join him for dinner. A seating plan has been devised, so we sit accordingly. Servers wearing clean white gloves pour wine and offer bread as salad is served. Listening in on conversation, and joining in on a chuckle or two... as I am so sophisticated, I return to my salad and cut into a fresh cherry tomato... resulting in the an explosion of tomato seeds and juice on my shirt.... Dammit.. that level of sophistication I mentioned earlier.... GONE. My next question... do I request some soda from the butler and sit there with giant wet dabs of soda water and a clean shirt??? or do i just lightly brush it off and go on with my business. I choose the latter.
One of the guest at the table is Gay Russia activist Nikolai, his presence in conjunction with our conversations of worldly sexual inequalities stirs up this one older couple, who by our collective discussion is of heavy Old-School Russian belief, they say very little, eat fast, and leave immediately after diner. The members of the consulate are well informed to our purpose for being in Russia in conjunction with the political actions about to be taken by Nikolai. Fearing for our safety and security over the next few days, detailed files on who we are have been put together incase any arrest are made. The last thing I want to to do is spend a day in a Russian jail, particularly since their exist so many different levels of police... apparently the police who wear camouflage are the ones you do not want to be arrested by. oh shit. Am I scared... a little, mainly because I just do not wish to be punched, hit or kicked in the teeth.... anywhere but the teeth.... PLEASE!!!
We complete the meal with deserts and ice wine while our hosts gives a brief history on the consulate. He highlights the table we sit at where past prime ministers have sat and ate, a piano Glen Gould would play, and areas throughout the neighborhood that had facts of interesting sexual history... wether it be or story of orgy parties from past leaders or mistresses of the night belonging to famous artists, we were all delighted to hear stories that had a bit more edge then the usual stories of history.
We thank everybody as the guest begin to depart for the evening, we all sign the guestbook and on that note we exit the Canadian Consulate. As we leave, Nikolai invites Ken to a meeting at 2pm the next day to discuss the plan for Sunday..... The day planned for political action, and a display of homosexual rights.. Moscow Pride 2008.
It's Saturday, our group consists of seven people at the present time. We have met up with Graham and Lola - Graham being one of our editors at Transmission in Vancouver, who has been living in europe with his girlfriend Lola. Plus Vlad... our translator, and the four of us, makes seven. We go through the motions of gathering additional establishing shots, explanations of artwork with homosexual undertones, and the concept of designer stores conceived by gay men... ( A funny mix to overlook ones sexuality in return for designer clothes, bags and shoes.. in the ever so strict Russia.)
We stop for lunch and get in touch with Nikolai, who gives us instructions on where to go. In a mad dash we hurry to find a quick means of transportation. We are educated to what is known as Gypsy Cabs... basically one can stand on the street and hail a random motorist, who would be willing to give a ride. We end up hailing this man in an old volvo, negotiate a price, then we are on our way.... a Funny experience I will try to implement in Vancouver... maybe not.
Arriving at said location, we call again... we are now told to go to another location which is within walking distance. We arrive at a gate to a housing complex secured by two guards. We call once again, and we are told that all seven of us cannot come in, and we are to tell the guards at the front gate that we are going in for a birthday party (speaking in english, as to distract the guard) Ken, Morris and I head into the complex and follow the appropriate directions... end of the block, building 7/ 4-5, tower 3, buzz 32, up to the seventh floor, apartment 65.. knock three times ( --- just kidding about the knock ) This is getting really covert... It's kind of like a James Bond situation, except we are dealing with a big gay meeting.... kinda takes away from the espionage undertone that this meeting has given birth too..... but still cool none the less, remember we are in Russia!
Inside the apartment is a group of activist led by Nikolai, who discuss what it is they are going to do on Sunday. They have been planning this for months now in hopes to run as smoothly as can be with no negative actions. I'd like to think nothing negative will fall upon this small group of people fighting to be excepted for who they are, but what I have heard thus far and footage from last year, leads me to believe otherwise.... But I have been known to be wrong.
I watch Ken sit there and listen in on the discussion of these few brave individuals ( they speak only russian, but one of the bi-lingual guest is happy to translate to Ken what is being discussed.) Ken for the first time is at a loss for words, something I have never seen or experienced prior to this moment. The conversation that takes place over the next 25 minutes is one I will forever remember... I could not understand what exactly was being said, but the tones used, body expressions, the tense feeling in the air combined with the covert secrecy and political disobedience of the entire situation, was plenty enough to become emotionally involved with the ideals and head space of this collective. I roll camera and piece together in my head the build up to the events which have taken place thus far.... This is going to make one awesome scene in the documentary.
After the meeting is over, Ken stands, and with the help of Nikolai translating for him, he tells how much he admires what they are doing, how he is unsure..put in their situation, if he could do what it is they are doing, and to close, he presents the group with the declaration of Montreal... a document that he has been carrying around since I met him. This document contains a series of human rights put down in hard copy... followed by signatures from high political powers all the way to the average citizen who believes in the equality of human rights.
This moment has been one of the more real situations I have experienced in this project, the emotions shown, level of gratitude and amazement displayed by people in a foreign country was something pure and ultimately real. Wow.
Now, we wait until sunday... where nothing could happen, and a public march could go off without a hitch... or like I say... "This could get messy."
the events which took place on sunday.
During the pride meeting on saturday the group was informed that two locations were to be used. One was the city hall, where they would lead all the anti-protestors too, such as different religious groups, KGB, military police and any other civilian who opposed the gay movement. Location Two was kept a secret at the meeting, it was known to only two people. The only instructions that were given to us were to meet at a train station at exactly 11 am, appear to be lost tourist, do not interact with anyone else from the meeting that may be there, and await a location from Anna, (The only other person that knew the location)
We split our camera crews into two groups. Morris, Graham and Lola were to take the small camera to city hall.. the site of the hoax location... Bound to be full of protesters, police and all the other angry religious groups. Ken, Bobby, Vlad, and myself were to meet at the train station and proceed as to the covert operation plans. Uncertain too the circumstances that lay ahead of us, we speculate that word might have slipped out and we could have all been met with police opposition or worse.... skinheads that have nothing but violence on their mind.
Jumping from train to train, waiting in other stations to time our arrival appropriately... we arrive at the said station. We proceed as planned, other members from Saturday's meeting are there looking as non-conspicuous as possible. We walk slowly by one girl I recall speaking with on camera as she reads a book and leans against a wall, I catch her eye, and she returns the look, quickly returning to her book. Another man is seated on the staircase, hat lowered, looking at the ground. As we walk through the station we see our first sign of retaliation... a group of eight police officers walk through the station, armed, and looking extremely angry. I have Ken hooked up to a wireless mic, with the receiver in my pac, headphones on I can hear everything he is saying... and just how heavy he is breathing. The police walk past us, nothing....we split up, but keep one another insight... I'm with Vlad... I open a map and hold a blue book that says Russia on it, trying to look as tourist as possible. Ken and Bob do the same on the other side of the station as if they appear to be awaiting a train. Ken talks to me wirelessly.... "What are we suppose to do.... we can only look like dumb tourist for soo long..." One man, recognizable from the meeting is stopped by the group of police and asked for his citizen papers....dammit, are they on to us ??? Waiting for Nikolai to show up??? Suddenly from nowhere, 15 uniformed police officers emerge in a high alert group that eyeballs the shit out of everybody in the station. Ken and Bob are approached by a man we recognize from yesterday, he tells Bob and Ken to follow him to a cafe... I hear over my headphones and tell Vlad where we are headed..... we calmly walk past the group of police and head to the exit, we leave behind a few of the individuals still under cover in their awaiting positions.... It is safe to say we are in the midst of a highly organized and thought out plan to oppose anything and everything Moscow holds to be true to history and order.
Walking to the location in a small group, I pull out my small camera and have Ken comment on the situation we were just in, and how agitated & nervous he was. As for now it appears that we are in the clear, we sit in a cafe across from a music conservatory... where this public demonstration is too take place. The music conservatory is known for a famous Russian composer who spite his popularity, was never able to openly express his sexuality, thus forced to live as an oppressed homosexual musician. Seated at this patio across from the site is a surreal situation.... it is a public setting, not overly crowded but an average city street crowd. At various tables sit members of the homosexual movement, all engaged in their own conversations, but keeping an eye on Anna.... who sits alone at a table behind us. She constantly is on her phone... I watch her... text messaging furiously... then quickly answering calls and speaking very silently.... The area is clear of police and any other individuals who may oppose this movement. Had they successfully pulled this off???? So far, the build-up has been extremely intense and knowing if we are to be caught, we would either be put in jail or beaten severely. Dammit.... we have come this far.... no sense in backing down now.
We receive a text message from our secondary group at city hall.... The word is protesters, police barricades, media - and more media, people with eggs , religious groups, and people who oppose homosexuality...... Busses awaiting to hall off any protesters... Basically the same display which was present from the previous year.
Their planned had worked... they had successfully steered the negative and violent forces away from their march.
Seated on the patio, we watch Anna as she suddenly stands and moves to exit...... This is happening now. Next thing I know, half of the patio is up and hurrying to collect outside of the hall, people are falling in out of back alleys, in from the street, and from areas unknown. I roll camera.... more photographers and camera operators arrive.... Holy shit there are good number of people and cameras present... from nothing to a large collection of individuals who all on the same mark expose Rainbow flags, and banners of various sizes, and begin to chant in Russian. Now understand that the previous year this was attempted, as soon as one banner was unrolled.... they were immediately shut-down and arrested, followed by a series of violence outbreaks...
All I can do is roll camera and watch my back..... the last thing you want as a camera operator is to be snubbed in the back while shooting..... that would ruin my day... The Homosexual movement is in full force, and Ken Coolen is right up their with them, at first holding a canadian flag then holding a rainbow flag... The Canadian flag draws attention of news crews who approach him for an interview.... the banners and rainbow flags that have now been displayed for five minutes begin to march and walk down the street... this is the first time any homosexual movement of people have been able to walk down a street.. and we were right there with them... Cameras rolling and Ken involved in the parade. No signs of police, not a sign of violence or opposition.... the parade marched for two blocks down a busy street before quickly packing up their flags and dispersing, it was fast, seen by the general public and most importantly non-viloent.
They did it.
We have been in Transit to Russia now for 12 hours, freshly after arriving home from Brazil... and yet, we have five hours left until we get to our final destination by way of airplane to taxi. I grab a bottle of water and prepare for the last leg.
Moscow is an extremely strange and different place.
Arriving at our hotel, we set out to get some food at one of the 24 hour restaurants. It's 2:15 AM, we are starving, thirsty, tired and irritable. Our server approaches and we find out that the existing beer menu, which contains seven types of beers, has only two kinds which we could order, Hoegarden or Dark. To top things off, the greek salad I order is unable to be ordered with a breast of chicken, but clearly their exist a caesar salad with chicken - but this place is soo communist that I cannot order anything different, or make substitutions..... Dammit, if this is what the rest of the week has in store for me.... I'm not going to be happy.
Day One consists of us heading straight to the Red Square and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. At present, these places are significant as they are the sights of Gay Russia's previous attempt at a public display of individuality, which was met with police and civilian hositility towards their ideals.
- Brief Project History -
The reason our documentary set out to explore the homosexual politics of Moscow, Russia, relates back to Nikolai, A Russian activist who our crew met in Sao Paulo. To date, Ken Coolen, has been in contact with Nikolai for a little over a year via email, and followed his actions through his website... This interest was spawned from a documentary Ken was exposed to that detailed previous attempts at a Pride parade in Russia, headed by Nikolai, that were met with government aggression and physical violence. The events and actions that were shown in this video were so unbelievably de-humaninizing and un-nessarily violent, that Ken has spent the greater portion of the last year in conjunction with his long time best friend Bobby 'Love' Christie, trying to figure out what actions could be taken to bring incidents like this forward to public knowledge. Hence this documentary we are in the midst of shooting.
Morris, being the international man of mystery he is, happens to be friends with the Son of the representative of the Russian Canadian Consulate. Next thing you know we are being invited to an informal dinner at the consulate for friday night. I bring a shirt and tie and polish my shoes with the electric shoe polisher in the hotel lobby.
The Canadian Consulate of Russia is housed within a building that dates back to the beginning of the 20th century, the exterior is well kept and a large Canadian flag blows freely above the door. Checking in, we show our passports and are escorted to a general meeting room where notable people involved in Russian media and human rights are gathered awaiting our arrival. Champagne and appetizers are served as everyone talks amongst another and I can't help but wonder what the hell I am doing here. Clearly the youngest person present, I hold my composure and limit my words to that of intelligent antic-dotes and previous experience as an international camera operator. I think I successfully tricked a few people into believing that I was a sophisticated individual... hahahaa . gotcha.
Giant white doors are swung open revealing a massive strategically set table as our host invites all of us to join him for dinner. A seating plan has been devised, so we sit accordingly. Servers wearing clean white gloves pour wine and offer bread as salad is served. Listening in on conversation, and joining in on a chuckle or two... as I am so sophisticated, I return to my salad and cut into a fresh cherry tomato... resulting in the an explosion of tomato seeds and juice on my shirt.... Dammit.. that level of sophistication I mentioned earlier.... GONE. My next question... do I request some soda from the butler and sit there with giant wet dabs of soda water and a clean shirt??? or do i just lightly brush it off and go on with my business. I choose the latter.
One of the guest at the table is Gay Russia activist Nikolai, his presence in conjunction with our conversations of worldly sexual inequalities stirs up this one older couple, who by our collective discussion is of heavy Old-School Russian belief, they say very little, eat fast, and leave immediately after diner. The members of the consulate are well informed to our purpose for being in Russia in conjunction with the political actions about to be taken by Nikolai. Fearing for our safety and security over the next few days, detailed files on who we are have been put together incase any arrest are made. The last thing I want to to do is spend a day in a Russian jail, particularly since their exist so many different levels of police... apparently the police who wear camouflage are the ones you do not want to be arrested by. oh shit. Am I scared... a little, mainly because I just do not wish to be punched, hit or kicked in the teeth.... anywhere but the teeth.... PLEASE!!!
We complete the meal with deserts and ice wine while our hosts gives a brief history on the consulate. He highlights the table we sit at where past prime ministers have sat and ate, a piano Glen Gould would play, and areas throughout the neighborhood that had facts of interesting sexual history... wether it be or story of orgy parties from past leaders or mistresses of the night belonging to famous artists, we were all delighted to hear stories that had a bit more edge then the usual stories of history.
We thank everybody as the guest begin to depart for the evening, we all sign the guestbook and on that note we exit the Canadian Consulate. As we leave, Nikolai invites Ken to a meeting at 2pm the next day to discuss the plan for Sunday..... The day planned for political action, and a display of homosexual rights.. Moscow Pride 2008.
It's Saturday, our group consists of seven people at the present time. We have met up with Graham and Lola - Graham being one of our editors at Transmission in Vancouver, who has been living in europe with his girlfriend Lola. Plus Vlad... our translator, and the four of us, makes seven. We go through the motions of gathering additional establishing shots, explanations of artwork with homosexual undertones, and the concept of designer stores conceived by gay men... ( A funny mix to overlook ones sexuality in return for designer clothes, bags and shoes.. in the ever so strict Russia.)
We stop for lunch and get in touch with Nikolai, who gives us instructions on where to go. In a mad dash we hurry to find a quick means of transportation. We are educated to what is known as Gypsy Cabs... basically one can stand on the street and hail a random motorist, who would be willing to give a ride. We end up hailing this man in an old volvo, negotiate a price, then we are on our way.... a Funny experience I will try to implement in Vancouver... maybe not.
Arriving at said location, we call again... we are now told to go to another location which is within walking distance. We arrive at a gate to a housing complex secured by two guards. We call once again, and we are told that all seven of us cannot come in, and we are to tell the guards at the front gate that we are going in for a birthday party (speaking in english, as to distract the guard) Ken, Morris and I head into the complex and follow the appropriate directions... end of the block, building 7/ 4-5, tower 3, buzz 32, up to the seventh floor, apartment 65.. knock three times ( --- just kidding about the knock ) This is getting really covert... It's kind of like a James Bond situation, except we are dealing with a big gay meeting.... kinda takes away from the espionage undertone that this meeting has given birth too..... but still cool none the less, remember we are in Russia!
Inside the apartment is a group of activist led by Nikolai, who discuss what it is they are going to do on Sunday. They have been planning this for months now in hopes to run as smoothly as can be with no negative actions. I'd like to think nothing negative will fall upon this small group of people fighting to be excepted for who they are, but what I have heard thus far and footage from last year, leads me to believe otherwise.... But I have been known to be wrong.
I watch Ken sit there and listen in on the discussion of these few brave individuals ( they speak only russian, but one of the bi-lingual guest is happy to translate to Ken what is being discussed.) Ken for the first time is at a loss for words, something I have never seen or experienced prior to this moment. The conversation that takes place over the next 25 minutes is one I will forever remember... I could not understand what exactly was being said, but the tones used, body expressions, the tense feeling in the air combined with the covert secrecy and political disobedience of the entire situation, was plenty enough to become emotionally involved with the ideals and head space of this collective. I roll camera and piece together in my head the build up to the events which have taken place thus far.... This is going to make one awesome scene in the documentary.
After the meeting is over, Ken stands, and with the help of Nikolai translating for him, he tells how much he admires what they are doing, how he is unsure..put in their situation, if he could do what it is they are doing, and to close, he presents the group with the declaration of Montreal... a document that he has been carrying around since I met him. This document contains a series of human rights put down in hard copy... followed by signatures from high political powers all the way to the average citizen who believes in the equality of human rights.
This moment has been one of the more real situations I have experienced in this project, the emotions shown, level of gratitude and amazement displayed by people in a foreign country was something pure and ultimately real. Wow.
Now, we wait until sunday... where nothing could happen, and a public march could go off without a hitch... or like I say... "This could get messy."
the events which took place on sunday.
During the pride meeting on saturday the group was informed that two locations were to be used. One was the city hall, where they would lead all the anti-protestors too, such as different religious groups, KGB, military police and any other civilian who opposed the gay movement. Location Two was kept a secret at the meeting, it was known to only two people. The only instructions that were given to us were to meet at a train station at exactly 11 am, appear to be lost tourist, do not interact with anyone else from the meeting that may be there, and await a location from Anna, (The only other person that knew the location)
We split our camera crews into two groups. Morris, Graham and Lola were to take the small camera to city hall.. the site of the hoax location... Bound to be full of protesters, police and all the other angry religious groups. Ken, Bobby, Vlad, and myself were to meet at the train station and proceed as to the covert operation plans. Uncertain too the circumstances that lay ahead of us, we speculate that word might have slipped out and we could have all been met with police opposition or worse.... skinheads that have nothing but violence on their mind.
Jumping from train to train, waiting in other stations to time our arrival appropriately... we arrive at the said station. We proceed as planned, other members from Saturday's meeting are there looking as non-conspicuous as possible. We walk slowly by one girl I recall speaking with on camera as she reads a book and leans against a wall, I catch her eye, and she returns the look, quickly returning to her book. Another man is seated on the staircase, hat lowered, looking at the ground. As we walk through the station we see our first sign of retaliation... a group of eight police officers walk through the station, armed, and looking extremely angry. I have Ken hooked up to a wireless mic, with the receiver in my pac, headphones on I can hear everything he is saying... and just how heavy he is breathing. The police walk past us, nothing....we split up, but keep one another insight... I'm with Vlad... I open a map and hold a blue book that says Russia on it, trying to look as tourist as possible. Ken and Bob do the same on the other side of the station as if they appear to be awaiting a train. Ken talks to me wirelessly.... "What are we suppose to do.... we can only look like dumb tourist for soo long..." One man, recognizable from the meeting is stopped by the group of police and asked for his citizen papers....dammit, are they on to us ??? Waiting for Nikolai to show up??? Suddenly from nowhere, 15 uniformed police officers emerge in a high alert group that eyeballs the shit out of everybody in the station. Ken and Bob are approached by a man we recognize from yesterday, he tells Bob and Ken to follow him to a cafe... I hear over my headphones and tell Vlad where we are headed..... we calmly walk past the group of police and head to the exit, we leave behind a few of the individuals still under cover in their awaiting positions.... It is safe to say we are in the midst of a highly organized and thought out plan to oppose anything and everything Moscow holds to be true to history and order.
Walking to the location in a small group, I pull out my small camera and have Ken comment on the situation we were just in, and how agitated & nervous he was. As for now it appears that we are in the clear, we sit in a cafe across from a music conservatory... where this public demonstration is too take place. The music conservatory is known for a famous Russian composer who spite his popularity, was never able to openly express his sexuality, thus forced to live as an oppressed homosexual musician. Seated at this patio across from the site is a surreal situation.... it is a public setting, not overly crowded but an average city street crowd. At various tables sit members of the homosexual movement, all engaged in their own conversations, but keeping an eye on Anna.... who sits alone at a table behind us. She constantly is on her phone... I watch her... text messaging furiously... then quickly answering calls and speaking very silently.... The area is clear of police and any other individuals who may oppose this movement. Had they successfully pulled this off???? So far, the build-up has been extremely intense and knowing if we are to be caught, we would either be put in jail or beaten severely. Dammit.... we have come this far.... no sense in backing down now.
We receive a text message from our secondary group at city hall.... The word is protesters, police barricades, media - and more media, people with eggs , religious groups, and people who oppose homosexuality...... Busses awaiting to hall off any protesters... Basically the same display which was present from the previous year.
Their planned had worked... they had successfully steered the negative and violent forces away from their march.
Seated on the patio, we watch Anna as she suddenly stands and moves to exit...... This is happening now. Next thing I know, half of the patio is up and hurrying to collect outside of the hall, people are falling in out of back alleys, in from the street, and from areas unknown. I roll camera.... more photographers and camera operators arrive.... Holy shit there are good number of people and cameras present... from nothing to a large collection of individuals who all on the same mark expose Rainbow flags, and banners of various sizes, and begin to chant in Russian. Now understand that the previous year this was attempted, as soon as one banner was unrolled.... they were immediately shut-down and arrested, followed by a series of violence outbreaks...
All I can do is roll camera and watch my back..... the last thing you want as a camera operator is to be snubbed in the back while shooting..... that would ruin my day... The Homosexual movement is in full force, and Ken Coolen is right up their with them, at first holding a canadian flag then holding a rainbow flag... The Canadian flag draws attention of news crews who approach him for an interview.... the banners and rainbow flags that have now been displayed for five minutes begin to march and walk down the street... this is the first time any homosexual movement of people have been able to walk down a street.. and we were right there with them... Cameras rolling and Ken involved in the parade. No signs of police, not a sign of violence or opposition.... the parade marched for two blocks down a busy street before quickly packing up their flags and dispersing, it was fast, seen by the general public and most importantly non-viloent.
They did it.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Travel Warning: Dangerous Territories
Travellers are strongly advised against travel to Chechnya, Dagestan and neighbouring Ingushetia. Military clashes, kidnapping of aid workers and foreigners, violent crimes and muggings are prevalent. Other areas of concern include North Ossetia, Stavropol, Karachayevo-Cherkessiya and Kabardino-Balkariya. Events in all these places are difficult to gauge and can change rapidly. On-the-ground consular support regarding these destinations can be negligible or non-existent. Russian authorities have warned of the possibility of terrorist attacks in major centres, including Moscow.
severity: Mid-level alert
severity: Mid-level alert
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
and we survived a crowd of 4 million.
As mentioned in my earlier writings, two weeks ago, we had not a single contact in Sao Paulo, nor an invitation to any event. Standing atop of the leading float in the 2008 Sao Paulo pride parade, was a sight truly worth the long cramped flight, and could not have been possible had Ken not stuck out his hand and said hello to anybody and everybody while we were in Las Vegas. The floats in Sao Paulo were nothing like any other floats we had previously seen in any Pride Parade, anywhere. They were not the lavish decorative show pieces, instead they resembled a massive truck with a dance floor on top, and a huge sound system that didn't just play music but BLASTED music courtesy of an onboard DJ. Our crew of five was on top of this truck as it pushed through a crowd of 4 million.....
At the base of each truck were 20 or so security guards that held a thick rope surrounding the perimeter of this slow rolling vehicle... their job was to keep the rope tight so the crowd would stay back and out of harms way.
Sun, drugs, alcohol, music, dancing.... violence, street vendors and nudity.... anything you can imagine that could happen in a crowd of 4 million .... did happen. Yet the celebration did not fit the idea of a typical parade, instead it closely resembled a massive street party, such as Carnival, put on in Rio. As I held my camera, and shot anything and everything, I was constantly getting yelled at for someone's attention.... whether it be to blow a kiss, lift up their shirt, wave, or make out with their partner..... they wanted me to get them on camera. I got tons of footage... Morris got tons of footage, so we decided to get out of there in one piece. At one point our group got split up, Bobby Love and myself, as one unit..... Morris, Ken and Joe ( our translator ) as another. Our high-tec walkie-talkies, which we purchased at Costco, proved to be useless in a crowd of 4 million.... I watched Bob yell into this handheld piece of plastic as if the world were coming to an end, "Morris!!! WHERE ARE YOU !!!", he screamed.... only to get a garbled response from the other end... this went on for about 20 minutes, until I said, "Bob we are going back to the hotel." Sure enough, they were there, and Bob was relieved.
Later we found ourselves on a roof-top party, that Ken got us invited too. Ken had the ability to talk his way into anything... its brilliant... This rooftop overlooked the parade and all the insanity that was going down in the streets. We got our shots, Ken talked about the parade and we drank as much of the free alcohol that we could. The parade ended, but we kept rolling camera as fights broke out, drunken men and women urinated in the streets, people were vomiting and we even saw this kid who could have been no older then 18, passed out... with a condom on his face.... I appropriately named him ' condom face', nobody but me really found that funny.
I still laugh at how clever I think that name is.
Brazil... complete.
10.5 hours from Sao Paulo to Toronto... One hour stopover... 5 hours to Vancouver. 23 hours to sleep, do laundry, import the footage & take care of business then....
Back to the airport..... Bound for Moscow, Russia.
At the base of each truck were 20 or so security guards that held a thick rope surrounding the perimeter of this slow rolling vehicle... their job was to keep the rope tight so the crowd would stay back and out of harms way.
Sun, drugs, alcohol, music, dancing.... violence, street vendors and nudity.... anything you can imagine that could happen in a crowd of 4 million .... did happen. Yet the celebration did not fit the idea of a typical parade, instead it closely resembled a massive street party, such as Carnival, put on in Rio. As I held my camera, and shot anything and everything, I was constantly getting yelled at for someone's attention.... whether it be to blow a kiss, lift up their shirt, wave, or make out with their partner..... they wanted me to get them on camera. I got tons of footage... Morris got tons of footage, so we decided to get out of there in one piece. At one point our group got split up, Bobby Love and myself, as one unit..... Morris, Ken and Joe ( our translator ) as another. Our high-tec walkie-talkies, which we purchased at Costco, proved to be useless in a crowd of 4 million.... I watched Bob yell into this handheld piece of plastic as if the world were coming to an end, "Morris!!! WHERE ARE YOU !!!", he screamed.... only to get a garbled response from the other end... this went on for about 20 minutes, until I said, "Bob we are going back to the hotel." Sure enough, they were there, and Bob was relieved.
Later we found ourselves on a roof-top party, that Ken got us invited too. Ken had the ability to talk his way into anything... its brilliant... This rooftop overlooked the parade and all the insanity that was going down in the streets. We got our shots, Ken talked about the parade and we drank as much of the free alcohol that we could. The parade ended, but we kept rolling camera as fights broke out, drunken men and women urinated in the streets, people were vomiting and we even saw this kid who could have been no older then 18, passed out... with a condom on his face.... I appropriately named him ' condom face', nobody but me really found that funny.
I still laugh at how clever I think that name is.
Brazil... complete.
10.5 hours from Sao Paulo to Toronto... One hour stopover... 5 hours to Vancouver. 23 hours to sleep, do laundry, import the footage & take care of business then....
Back to the airport..... Bound for Moscow, Russia.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Sunday, May 25, 2008
it's all fun and games until someone loses a camera.
While I was in high school, the place to be on the weekends was Canada's Wonderland. Except, on a few notable theme days where different groups would take over the park.... These days always promised longer ride wait times, and zero table availability at the over priced food fairs. Particularly on Italian Day and Gay Day.....
So I find myself right smack in the middle of Gay Day at this Brazilian theme park.... drag queens, gays, lesbians, transgendered and even the straight folk flock to this park for a day of rides, games and good times. Armed with my HD Camera, my trusty crew and translator, we are picking shots of the usual scene setting imagery that an amusement park would offer. In and amongst the fun and excitement of log rides and roller coasters, Ken is able to sit down with a few notable individuals for an hours worth of one on one interviews. That said, and valuable comments captured, we head for the exit. Suddenly.... I stop in front of this roller coaster... slowly... I turn, and closely examine the layout of this massive red and yellow seated amusment ride.... There is no initial hill to go over, instead it pulls you up backwards then releases you..... (( Sound Familiar ))... then after stopping parallel to where you are first pulled up, you then do the same ride again but in reverse. "Holly Shit !!! ", I yell, "It's 'THE BAT!!" from Canada's Wonderland!!! But it's called The Tornado!!! Unfortunately, none my crew can appreciate the humor in this situation as all three have yet to visit Wonderland while in Vaughn, Ontario. I admire the ride for a minute or two, and reminisce about the hours I spent waiting in the ride cue, the wooden poles full of dried colourful chewing gum, and the short thrill of the ride.
Our next stop is the organized Lesbian March.... Prior to this project, I would have been pumped to go to this event... As I always thought the typical Lesbian was one I was use to seeing in those XXX rated movies. Unfortunately, like all things in life... television has over embellished my expectations of places, people and events.
So I find myself right smack in the middle of Gay Day at this Brazilian theme park.... drag queens, gays, lesbians, transgendered and even the straight folk flock to this park for a day of rides, games and good times. Armed with my HD Camera, my trusty crew and translator, we are picking shots of the usual scene setting imagery that an amusement park would offer. In and amongst the fun and excitement of log rides and roller coasters, Ken is able to sit down with a few notable individuals for an hours worth of one on one interviews. That said, and valuable comments captured, we head for the exit. Suddenly.... I stop in front of this roller coaster... slowly... I turn, and closely examine the layout of this massive red and yellow seated amusment ride.... There is no initial hill to go over, instead it pulls you up backwards then releases you..... (( Sound Familiar ))... then after stopping parallel to where you are first pulled up, you then do the same ride again but in reverse. "Holly Shit !!! ", I yell, "It's 'THE BAT!!" from Canada's Wonderland!!! But it's called The Tornado!!! Unfortunately, none my crew can appreciate the humor in this situation as all three have yet to visit Wonderland while in Vaughn, Ontario. I admire the ride for a minute or two, and reminisce about the hours I spent waiting in the ride cue, the wooden poles full of dried colourful chewing gum, and the short thrill of the ride.
Our next stop is the organized Lesbian March.... Prior to this project, I would have been pumped to go to this event... As I always thought the typical Lesbian was one I was use to seeing in those XXX rated movies. Unfortunately, like all things in life... television has over embellished my expectations of places, people and events.
The lesbian march, to my disappointment, was not a group of porn-star like women going at it with one another.... instead it was a sworm of the same women who would give me a hard time as a Milestones server throughout my years at college....... Dammit. Shit..... This is unfair. We roll camera, talk to a few of the organizers, and get the overall impact of their purpose of taking over a portion of the street at 4pm on a saturday.
Shooting for the day is wrapped. We then eat... my favourite thing to do in Brazil, because the food is just so damn good. If anyone is interested, you gotta go to Brazil at least once in your life to try the food here... Meats... cheeses.... Vegetables.... cooked in a fashion that on few occasions has made me want to shoot the cook..... in order to restore the balance of good and bad. (- Thankyou Johnny Depp.)
21:30...Settling into our hotel for the evening, we all crash for two or so hours. 23:30... What the hell are we going to do tonight ???? I try to figure out a good club for straight guys, while Morris, Bob and Ken make plans to go back to 'The Week.' I later find out that tonight at the week, is a collection of international DJ's with an appearance from Mia.... This means two things to me..... 1) Nickleback is not playing tonight.... and, 2) There will be a helluva more quantity of females among the topless men dancing about, PLUS, we have VIP access and do not have to pay the $120 cover charge. I'm in.... something I would soon regret.
At first the crowd is a good size. A few Vodka's and photo ops later, we take notice that the club is packed. People are furiously dancing everywhere.... Half of the club is inside, the other half outside... I prefer the outside area.
Shooting for the day is wrapped. We then eat... my favourite thing to do in Brazil, because the food is just so damn good. If anyone is interested, you gotta go to Brazil at least once in your life to try the food here... Meats... cheeses.... Vegetables.... cooked in a fashion that on few occasions has made me want to shoot the cook..... in order to restore the balance of good and bad. (- Thankyou Johnny Depp.)
21:30...Settling into our hotel for the evening, we all crash for two or so hours. 23:30... What the hell are we going to do tonight ???? I try to figure out a good club for straight guys, while Morris, Bob and Ken make plans to go back to 'The Week.' I later find out that tonight at the week, is a collection of international DJ's with an appearance from Mia.... This means two things to me..... 1) Nickleback is not playing tonight.... and, 2) There will be a helluva more quantity of females among the topless men dancing about, PLUS, we have VIP access and do not have to pay the $120 cover charge. I'm in.... something I would soon regret.
At first the crowd is a good size. A few Vodka's and photo ops later, we take notice that the club is packed. People are furiously dancing everywhere.... Half of the club is inside, the other half outside... I prefer the outside area.
I visit the mens washroom.... which is urinals exposed to the elements of being outside, but hidden away from the view of the club. The line is huge, and I gotta go...
I've noticed that in all these gay bars, the mens room is the one with the massive line ups.... opposite to the normal bars I'm use to.
When I get inside the mens room, it is so full... that men are relieving themselves on the wall in between the designated spot for urination, known as a urinal. GROSS!!!! As much as I would like to marinate my adidas in the alcohol filled urine of other men.... I make a break for the female washroom ( In brazil, men and women can use one another's facilities... it is OK.)
With that gross episode out of the way, I regroup with the guys. Morris and Bobby love are dancing away, Ken too is dancing ---> but I need him for a side mission. There are plenty of beautiful women in this bar, and most of them are under the impression that I am gay, thus less of a defensive guard is up. With that knowledge, I give Ken my camera and set out to take as many photos as I can with beautiful Brazilian women. Every female in the club is more then happy to pose for a photo... this is great, very few speak english... but they understand beautiful and take a photo. Ken is a first-class photographer, his photos are in focus and composed perfectly. We stumble upon a whole group of Brazilian females, I talk to them and jump in for a picture. Upon further discussion, they all speak english... and figure out through their discussion with Ken and their Gay friend, that I am in-fact a straight heterosexual male. They want to dance... perfect, I love to dance.
With that gross episode out of the way, I regroup with the guys. Morris and Bobby love are dancing away, Ken too is dancing ---> but I need him for a side mission. There are plenty of beautiful women in this bar, and most of them are under the impression that I am gay, thus less of a defensive guard is up. With that knowledge, I give Ken my camera and set out to take as many photos as I can with beautiful Brazilian women. Every female in the club is more then happy to pose for a photo... this is great, very few speak english... but they understand beautiful and take a photo. Ken is a first-class photographer, his photos are in focus and composed perfectly. We stumble upon a whole group of Brazilian females, I talk to them and jump in for a picture. Upon further discussion, they all speak english... and figure out through their discussion with Ken and their Gay friend, that I am in-fact a straight heterosexual male. They want to dance... perfect, I love to dance.
This one girl grabs my hand and leads me through the crowd following her friends. ( So we are in the outside club area, making our way to the inner dance floor.) I lose Ken... I'm alone in a club of 5000 with a group of girls... things could be worse..... and they do get worse.
The dance floor is an absolute mosh pit of shirtless, sweaty men, we make our way through... It does not take any longer the 10 minutes for the two of us to lose her friends. So now, I am deep in a cluster of sweaty gay men with this beautiful girl, and neither of us can find our friends..... I gotta get out here.... Between the music which is the loudest I have ever heard, and the constant strobe effect of light, ( that could only be amusing to those on heavy drugs), the whole situation feels as if I'm about to have an epileptic seizure. I pull this girl out of the mess of men, back to the cool breeze of the outside club. Luckily I run into Morris and Bobby Love, who are just tearing it up with a few topless men. Being the gentlemen I am..... no comments please.... I now feel the social responsibility of reconnecting this girl with her friends. She gets on her phone and learns that they are inside by the stage.... basically the belly of the beast which is this club.... Fuck!!!... Shit!!!... Ballz!!!.... I really... really do not want to go back in there. I mentally prep myself to take her in anyway, telling Bob and Morris in my best Arnold Schwarzenegger voice.... "I'll be back."
Fighting... with all my might I push through sweaty, shirtless men dancing.... The last time I was in a crowd this dense was when I saw the band Korn play at arrow hall.... That was years ago, and have since grown out the stage in life where I enjoy being helplessly locked into the motion of a crowd. We can't find her friends... we push further... deeper... into this sweaty nasty mess. My left hand is used to move people out of the way, and the other to hold tight onto this girls hand. The two of us are in front of the stage, sandwiched together in amongst a crowd of sweat and loud music.... her friends are nowhere present....
HOLD ON.... Something is missing..
I pat my right pocket.... FUCK!!!! .... SHIT!!! .... BALLS!!!!! Someone has stolen my camera right out of my pocket... I'm pissed... mad... angry... all of the above!!! Not only was that my roommates camera, but all my pictures from the last 12 days of being in Brazil are in the hands of some petty thief. Pictures of exotic locations... beaches.... thong bikinis .... people I met along the way... GONE!!! DAMMIT!!
I tell this girl, that my fucking camera was stolen!!! I'm going back to find my friends and I am leaving..... (I should have stayed in, like i originally planned.) I ask her if she wants me to get her out of there... She does.
Being subjected to pushes and shoves from people as I force my way out, I can't stop thinking about the lost pictures of Rio De Janeiro. My favourite 'The Doors' T-shirt is now covered in my sweat and the sweat of a thousand other men.... remind me to throughly wash this thing when I get home.
I find my friends and tell them the bad news... The girl I'm with locates her friends.... I tell her I'm way too upset to dance and that I'm going back to my hotel to sulk about my misfortune. She leaves... Dammit!! I cannot believe that just happened. Not only did I lose a camera, but the opportunity to dance with a beautiful Brazilian girl has been lost.
Morris and I break out of the sweaty mess, leaving Ken and Bob to do what it is they do. To our advantage, we are with our translator Joe, he gives us a ride back to the hotel. I'm soo pissed.... I never get upset... and have not been this upset in years. Not so much the camera.... but the photos ....gone forever.
We get some 5am food at Habib's and retire to the hotel...
The parade begins in 6 hours.... 4 million people on one street.
I need some rest.
Morris and I break out of the sweaty mess, leaving Ken and Bob to do what it is they do. To our advantage, we are with our translator Joe, he gives us a ride back to the hotel. I'm soo pissed.... I never get upset... and have not been this upset in years. Not so much the camera.... but the photos ....gone forever.
We get some 5am food at Habib's and retire to the hotel...
The parade begins in 6 hours.... 4 million people on one street.
I need some rest.
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