Two Pictures a Day in Siberia: third week

From 8 to 14 February 2015

by Gilles Porte AFC newsletter n°253

[ English ] [ français ]

This is the continuation of the daily photo journal that Gilles Porte, AFC, has been keeping while shooting Safy Nebbou’s film The Consolations of the Forest in Siberia. Gilles has been asking other members of the team to give him one of the two photos sent to us every day, and writes the legends himself. Take a look at these images from their third week on location.
Baikal Stadium - My thoughts go out to my friend Bernard Chambaz who would have liked to shoot a ball on this football field on Lake Baikal. We can appreciate the designers who forgot to plan for a goalie on the other side… <i>(Gilles Porte, Sunday 8 March)</i>
Baikal Stadium
My thoughts go out to my friend Bernard Chambaz who would have liked to shoot a ball on this football field on Lake Baikal. We can appreciate the designers who forgot to plan for a goalie on the other side… (Gilles Porte, Sunday 8 March)


Crack - Cyril was a spark on <i>When the Sea Rises</i> (2003)… I have long known that he is a great photographer… <i>(Photo by Cyrille Girard, gaffer, Sunday 8 February)</i>
Crack
Cyril was a spark on When the Sea Rises (2003)… I have long known that he is a great photographer… (Photo by Cyrille Girard, gaffer, Sunday 8 February)


Liudmila… - Safy has to spend a long time explaining to this Buryat woman why her home interests him and how her house will feature in his story… The scouting is taking forever, but we – Arnaud, the location manager, Frédéric, the production manager, Louna, the 1<sup class="typo_exposants">st</sup> assistant director, Cyril, the production designer, and myself — all know how important it is to take one's time during this phase despite our extremely tight scouting schedule. <i>(Gilles Porte, Monday 9 February)</i>
Liudmila…
Safy has to spend a long time explaining to this Buryat woman why her home interests him and how her house will feature in his story… The scouting is taking forever, but we – Arnaud, the location manager, Frédéric, the production manager, Louna, the 1st assistant director, Cyril, the production designer, and myself — all know how important it is to take one’s time during this phase despite our extremely tight scouting schedule. (Gilles Porte, Monday 9 February)


Scouting... - Louna often stops to take photos of people we encounter whilst scouting… <i>(Photo by Louna Morard, 1<sup class="typo_exposants">st</sup> assistant director, Monday 9 February)</i>
Scouting...
Louna often stops to take photos of people we encounter whilst scouting… (Photo by Louna Morard, 1st assistant director, Monday 9 February)


Dusk... - We hope we'll have overcast weather for a lot of scenes in this region of the world where, nonetheless, the average amount of sunlight is comparable to that of California! <i>(Gilles Porte, Tueday 10 February)</i>
Dusk...
We hope we’ll have overcast weather for a lot of scenes in this region of the world where, nonetheless, the average amount of sunlight is comparable to that of California! (Gilles Porte, Tueday 10 February)


Make-up close-up - Myriam's work will contribute enormously to making Safy's film look realistic... <i>(Photo by Myriam Kimas, make-up artist, Tuesday 10 February)</i>
Make-up close-up
Myriam’s work will contribute enormously to making Safy’s film look realistic... (Photo by Myriam Kimas, make-up artist, Tuesday 10 February)


Completely frozen! - Day before we begin shooting… Last round trip visit to Teddy's cabin… The ice that forms on the windows will surprise us with a different composition every day… <i>(Gilles Porte, Wednesday 11 February)</i>
Completely frozen!
Day before we begin shooting… Last round trip visit to Teddy’s cabin… The ice that forms on the windows will surprise us with a different composition every day… (Gilles Porte, Wednesday 11 February)


Still Life - The stills provided by other members of the film crew sometimes reveal to me things I had never seen before, even though I've walked right past them at least 10 times… <i>(Photo by Vladimir Demtchikov, actor, Wednesday 11 February)</i>
Still Life
The stills provided by other members of the film crew sometimes reveal to me things I had never seen before, even though I’ve walked right past them at least 10 times… (Photo by Vladimir Demtchikov, actor, Wednesday 11 February)


Coloured Ribbons - The first day of shooting: here we go! Has Safy (in red, on the left) actually hung a coloured ribbon on the fake totem pole that Cyril set up as a good luck charm?<i>(Gilles Porte, Thursday 12 February)</i>
Coloured Ribbons
The first day of shooting: here we go! Has Safy (in red, on the left) actually hung a coloured ribbon on the fake totem pole that Cyril set up as a good luck charm?(Gilles Porte, Thursday 12 February)


Cyril and his crew of Siberians - Cyril toasts with the people who helped him erect his totem pole… In a few hours, the actors will be doing the same as part of the script. <i>(Photo by Irina Semibratova, art department crew, Thursday 12 February)</i>
Cyril and his crew of Siberians
Cyril toasts with the people who helped him erect his totem pole… In a few hours, the actors will be doing the same as part of the script. (Photo by Irina Semibratova, art department crew, Thursday 12 February)


Rex makes a scene! - The dog of Samia, our driver, comes along with us every morning either by following or walking ahead of his master's vehicle for a few kilometres… It was only natural that Safy decided to have him do some work as an extra by asking him to run behind the UAZ we're using for the film in which we've hidden our driver… During the trip to the location, he gets special comfort from Lisa, the assistant director, and Frederic, the production director, because Samia has warned us that his dog has never been inside his vehicle before, and he doesn't know how he might react… <i>(Gilles Porte, Friday 13 February)</i>
Rex makes a scene!
The dog of Samia, our driver, comes along with us every morning either by following or walking ahead of his master’s vehicle for a few kilometres… It was only natural that Safy decided to have him do some work as an extra by asking him to run behind the UAZ we’re using for the film in which we’ve hidden our driver… During the trip to the location, he gets special comfort from Lisa, the assistant director, and Frederic, the production director, because Samia has warned us that his dog has never been inside his vehicle before, and he doesn’t know how he might react… (Gilles Porte, Friday 13 February)


Lunch break - Marie-Sophie, the 1<sup class="typo_exposants">st</sup> assistant camera, Laurent, the sound engineer, and Cyril, the gaffer, during their lunch break… <i>(Photo by Timothy Joanin, 2<sup class="typo_exposants">nd</sup> assistant camera, Friday 13 February)</i>
Lunch break
Marie-Sophie, the 1st assistant camera, Laurent, the sound engineer, and Cyril, the gaffer, during their lunch break… (Photo by Timothy Joanin, 2nd assistant camera, Friday 13 February)


Asya, 8 years old - Safy has chosen to make Teddy (his main character) meet seven Buryats who have never been in front of a camera before… Asya is part of this family assembled especially for <i>Consolations of the Forest</i>… <i>(Gilles Porte, Saturday 14 February)</i>
Asya, 8 years old
Safy has chosen to make Teddy (his main character) meet seven Buryats who have never been in front of a camera before… Asya is part of this family assembled especially for Consolations of the Forest(Gilles Porte, Saturday 14 February)


Buryat Children - I know that in a few weeks, these children will draw something on my sheet of glass, as many have done before them… I hope that Syrine, my daughter, will assist me… <i>(Photo by Cyril Gomez-Mathieu, set designer, Saturday 14 February)</i>
Buryat Children
I know that in a few weeks, these children will draw something on my sheet of glass, as many have done before them… I hope that Syrine, my daughter, will assist me… (Photo by Cyril Gomez-Mathieu, set designer, Saturday 14 February)

(Translated from French by Alex Raiffe)


  • Click here to see the series of images from the 1st week.
  • Click here to find out more about Gilles Porte’s project, read a plot summary of the movie, learn about the members of the camera crew and some technical specifications.