World Between Us (2024) Movie Script
Sorry!
Sorry, sorry.
There's so many people here!
Can I take a picture of you, please?
Thank you!
Hi! Could I take a portrait of you,
please? Yeah!
Can I take a picture of you in front
of that wall?
- What's your name?
- True.
- True?
- Yes. What's your name?
- Marie.
- It's nice to meet you!
Wait, one more.
I love your colors!
Hold on!
Thank you!
- Hey!
- Hey!
Sorry, I'm going out.
All right, good afternoon, everyone.
As you know we will be talking
about portraiture today.
I'm not gonna give you
a history of portraiture
like sort of an even trajectory of...
I don't know, anything.
I'm going to talk
about an extended meaning.
What's a portrait?
A portrait is really simple.
I take a picture of you
and if I name you
and say, "This is so and so, right?"
That's a portrait.
So, a portrait has to be
a name likeness. That's it!
So, what's the difference?
What difference
does the name make, right?
You're you, right?
I paint you. I call you you.
You're the same person. It's
a portrait of you. You matter, right?
But portraiture is more complex
because it's about
communicating values, right?
And often art is really about
communicating values.
The value of this one is
that this person will last forever.
And it's made out
of a really hard stone.
Up until the 20th, 21st centuries,
portraits were done
of important people.
I hate that term. I'm not saying
that one person is more important.
Is that what we're talking about.
I'm bored with kings and queens.
I'm bored with white guys
with light coming out of their head.
I'm bored with all of that.
Give me something that makes me,
I guess think, right? Or feel.
This is a Manhattan bound M train.
The next stop is Essex Street.
Hey, get back!
And clear up the closing doors,
please.
Done?
No way. Come on.
I just remembered I had a dream.
Eighteen.
- You know what I can't find?
- What?
Boy in the purple suit, remember?
Oh, Bub, I don't know.
I mean, that's a valuable picture.
My inspiration for this whole show.
Well...
It's a real mess.
I'll tell you that much.
Would you double check that the one
in the purple suit is number 14?
Thomas, I never knew
that he acts out so much,
when he gets attention with camera.
Better than me going like this
and standing here, right?
Hey, no! He's biting it.
That's the plastic he likes.
- Look at it. Yeah, look at it.
- Oh, no, it is.
Goddamn it. Not only there is
hair everywhere from the cat...
Hey, listen, you know what?
I was going to give you advice to
keep it away from the cat and dust.
I figured you know
what you're doing.
If we leave this out, he's gonna bite
through the negatives.
Yeah, that's exactly right.
That's exactly what he will do.
Hey, you want a snack?
A cereal bar?
You got to understand
I'm super psyched about this.
That there's gonna be
this documentary film made by you!
I mean, that's so cool!
Listen, I had this dream today
that we had the exhibition.
I was there with Thomas. It was in
a huge building with three floors,
and there was just me
and five other people!
It really bummed me out.
So I hope that isn't gonna happen.
Remember when I said a portrait is
painted and it's a likeness of you.
What you really want in a portrait
is your essence. Like, who are you?
Not just what you look like,
but what you are.
That's where portraiture
gets really interesting.
It's like
there's something else in it.
I think the butt is blown up,
and I think the photo on right
looks darker than on the left.
I think Marie's right. I think
a little bit lighter on this, right?
Is that what you're saying?
And a little darker on here.
At least take the yellow out
and then we get the tub a little...
And there is more blue in that tub,
right? Is that me or...
I can't wait
until you get some assistant.
- I have a perfect assistant.
- Who knows what they're doing.
- I have the best.
- I can't wait until you find somebody
- who knows what they're doing.
- I can't wait
once I'll be able to start paying you
for that.
Yeah, right.
- Take it down for a sec.
- Jesus.
- I want to get the cream on it.
- Jesus.
Little baby Jesus
delivering presents.
- Come on.
- Just relax. I'm doing it.
You see this?
Two hands. Well, you know,
this is because
you had all of that lunch yesterday.
The only way,
why this relationship works,
is because Thomas
is the oldest one from three kids.
And he... I bet he tortured
both of his siblings, like crazy.
The way it works is because
I'm the youngest of three kids.
I got tortured the whole time
from my sisters.
I'm used to it
and I have fun with it!
Hey, man, that's the wrong key.
Okay. This isn't it.
We can leave that.
And that's not it either. So nothing.
What are you waiting for?
A letter from the immigration office.
For a travel permit.
So that I can go home,
after seven years.
Well, what's the difference
between introduction and essay?
That's a good question.
Beautiful, isn't it?
That's the reason I came to New York.
I saw this photo on the internet and
knew I had to come meet the maker.
He's right there.
I've been following your work
for years. I'm so happy.
Where are you from?
- The Philippines.
- Cool.
I have a solo show at the Czech
Center. It's a lot of portraits.
I invited him to my solo show.
He said he would come. Good news!
I can't wait to hear
what my idol thinks of my work.
That looks so good.
And we are on,
like, literally a 64th of an inch.
There. What do you think?
- Are you happy?
- I want to see the whole thing up.
- You think boots are better?
- I think the boots would be better.
Should have some kind of pants.
I'm gonna be moving, I mean, "Hi!"
You see my butt?
It's okay.
I'm trying to find something
for my first solo show next week.
Do you think it works like a dress?
Do you feel like I forgot my pants?
Of course,
Rob will be up there hammering.
Crystal meth inspired sculpture.
- I might ask if she wants to talk.
- Sure.
Yeah, you met her in person
so just be whatever.
You've met her before.
You're gonna be fine. You know her.
- It's great.
- I know.
If only my eye wasn't twitching.
It really was important for me
to be able to connect with people
through photography,
and that's what is really wonderful,
you know, about all of it,
is that I got a chance and reason
to meet people
and photograph them and talk to them
and make friends.
And that really helped me
to all of a sudden have a home
in New York city in a way.
There's around,
like, 180 people in it,
so it's gonna be
really over 200 photos.
If you would have that black thing
it would look better,
because it's dark inside,
so it doesn't show.
- We'll do it next time.
- When we have money.
For many years when I was illegal,
and it wasn't very easy,
and, you know, when I was working
babysitting jobs with all these,
you know, oppressed minorities,
and that's what it was,
because I couldn't do anything better
because I didn't have the right,
or the option to do anything else
because I don't have the right paper.
They also reflect who I am
and that is in a sense also
some kind of a self-portrait with,
through all these people,
because his is my vision of America,
coming from Eastern Europe.
This is America I really like,
and I can relate to.
Who do you want to talk to,
the curator?
Should I try it
or how do you feel about that?
Okay.
All right, Thomas, what should I
do better with the next one?
- I would use the word displacement.
- Displacement, okay.
But otherwise, perfect.
Perfect interview.
Holy shit, yeah, those were,
some questions were tricky,
like, "What do you want your message
as an artist to be in this world?"
And I'm like, "I don't know!"
I just want to do art.
I don't know what kind of message.
- That's up to others to judge, right?
- Yeah. That's great.
And the answer, I think that you're
a genuine and earnest, so it's a...
I mean everything was fine.
- That's fine.
- Yeah.
I look at these pictures.
I haven't tired of looking at them.
There's something special.
I don't know what to say.
Instead of doing that,
I'll just thank Marie.
This is her show
and I'm so happy to be a part of it.
I would like to thank Thomas
for curating such a beautiful show.
I want to thank all the people
who allowed me to photograph them
and how special that is,
that you guys, you know, are all here
and that you are my friends.
That's really
just the most important thing
and I'm already losing my voice
and I'm going to cry.
That's my first solo show.
I never had a solo show.
- You deserve a solo show.
- It's scary.
This is my first solo show, yes.
These are pictures from New York.
I've been here seven years.
And this is my work
from the last two, three years.
How did you get in touch
with the curator?
How did you find him?
We've worked on various projects.
He's known my work for a long time.
Because we've been working together
for a long time,
we found out
this would be the best option.
- Excuse me...
- He has his family here? His wife?
Sister. His sister is here.
I'll be right back.
Let's get out of here!
There is a former minister
of foreign affairs right there
with his wife and the Czech consul
and they were talking to me.
They were like,
"We saw the curator.
He has a family here. He has a wife."
I'm like, "That's a sister."
We don't tell anybody
that we are really married.
I think he thought that you
or maybe you are a wife.
You could pose as her,
like, for the evening.
I find that super funny.
Let me tell you,
it looks so fucking good.
Honestly, like, it's so good.
They have so much expression,
so I'm just thinking
what it was in that moment.
You did an amazing job.
- Really?
- Oh, thank you!
Like somebody is actually staring
at me, into my soul.
I love that
you, like, hold eye contact.
Something, like,
people struggle to do
and I wish that something
happened more in my life.
Yeah, through the eyes,
you really do connect.
Ryan McGinley... the best version
of a male photographer.
I would love to get him
to see the work.
But in my mind, you are even better
because you can see it in the eyes.
All the men can retire.
They're objectifying people
and you are actually not.
I never know what to do when
somebody's pointing camera at me.
- Me too.
- Oh, you do.
Life is so great. Yes.
I've posted everywhere about Ryan,
making sure everybody knows.
He actually showed up, you know?
I mean, he stayed for two hours.
It's crazy
that someone of that caliber
would spend two hours of his time
at a gallery with some girl,
looking at her photos.
And he loved them. He said
I should take pictures every day.
He said
I should definitely publish a book.
That he always just gives his
to people he admires,
gallery owners, big brands,
and others.
Something always comes out of it,
a job or an exhibition.
Now I've gone up 100%
to a whole new level
because an endorsement from Ryan
is just incredible.
That's just freaking crazy.
Everyone he has supported
has thrived and just made it.
Recently,
Mom has been telling me on Skype
that Dad would've been proud
I'm in America.
And it's true,
because fad loved to travel.
He wanted to travel around the world.
He was an adventurer.
I think my mom isn't much
of an adventurer. But my dad was.
Mom's an adventurer on the inside.
Yeah, I'm sure he would've come
to visit me here, too.
He'd come and then we'd go to Mexico
and smoke cigars.
Dad was a bohemian, adventurer,
a little crazy, alcoholic.
And sometimes I'm sorry that,
I won't get that recognition
from a father,
as his youngest daughter.
I was a daddy's girl,
the youngest one.
This is Dad and Mom.
Here's Mom, Grandma, me, and Dad.
Dad and I... See, we were buddies.
This is one of the few photos
of my dad,
and he goes "ta-da" and I go...
I suffered a lot after my dad died.
It took me an awfully long time.
Dad died in November. Two days later,
we celebrated my birthday.
I got a silver necklace
for my 16th birthday,
a necklace and earrings
that my mom and dad bought me,
so I got presents
that dad didn't live to see.
I got a huge book about Dali that Dad
bought me and mom then gave to me.
Everyone was crying. For a few years,
everyone cried at my birthday party
which was pretty traumatizing.
I didn't want to celebrate
my birthday
as it was connected with Dad's death.
I didn't talk to my family
for some time after that.
We drifted apart after my dad died.
I didn't communicate with anyone
at home. I didn't say much to anyone.
But I was also a teenager, so...
Fourteen years ago,
that's crazy, huh?
I had a talk at the Met one evening.
I was standing
in front of this Gauguin painting.
She came up
and stood in front of this painting.
So, I said, "Hello."
An older gentleman with glasses,
wearing a blazer and dress shirt.
He looked at me, so I looked at him,
and I said, "Hi."
Hi! Good to see you.
How have you been?
I continued through the gallery
and 20 minutes later I saw him again
walking with a group of people...
How you doing, Professor?
Hi, how are you doing?
You look so happy. It's so nice.
...giving them a lecture.
Nice to see you. Great! Shall we?
Great. Let's go for it.
We had our lecture on portraiture.
What we're really doing
is connecting this idea
of portraiture to self-portraiture.
I love portraiture.
I love looking at people,
because I look at portraits and they
tell me something about people.
So, what has Whistler done here?
Comte de Montesquiou.
French aristocrat. Right?
Since he'd said hi to me before,
I joined the lecture.
- And he let me.
- I don't really want to be here.
Right, he's too good for this.
He was so passionate about the art.
I even took notes.
The title of the portrait is
Arrangement in Black and Gold.
So where do you see the gold?
He spoke for 90 minutes. I'd never
attended such a great art lecture.
Where's the gold? There's no gold
in the painting. The frame...
When everyone was leaving,
I asked him for his cell number.
I told him
I'd like to go to the gallery again.
...Rembrandt brings the value into
the painting and onto himself.
Right? Whistler frames the value
with that gold.
He took a sticker off his blazer
and wrote his cell number on it.
I still have it.
It's smoky. It's light,
just like Montesquieu himself.
So, does anybody have any questions?
Yuri? Ben?
I think about the lighting.
So, how was he able to kind of define
where the light is in the painting?
And how was he even able to do that?
I guess what looks like a garbage bag
is some sort of cloak, I'm assuming.
Very expensive garbage bag.
Very expensive.
Chinchilla, expensive fur cape.
You know, the so-called enlightenment
convention is of lighting.
You know, the head,
typically some white guy. Right?
To show that he's thinking
and bright and brilliant.
I have no idea what I'm gonna say.
That's a good question.
I don't really know
if I have answer for that.
See, I think it's also because I've
never done photography in Czech.
Though that's not entirely true.
You finish the school,
and you were not at all ready for
how the real world, you know, works.
And especially in being painter.
So, I just...
you know, I was working in a bar
and didn't really know what to do
so I was like, "Well, maybe
I will just go to United States
and I'm gonna be an au-pair
for a year." You know, and...
And I actually had a boyfriend
back then.
I said,
"I'm gonna go for a half a year,
I'm gonna make some money, then come
back home and we get married."
Well, I never came back home.
I, you know... Can you hear me?
Shit.
- Hey, how are you?
- Hey. Hi.
My photos. They are so big.
Nothing here will be useful
for the immigration office.
These photos are really old.
That was before I learned
to shoot on film.
Terrible.
Everything out of focus.
- When was that?
- 2011.
This must be from North Carolina.
Why do I always write about guys?
I have a date on Saturday.
A date that isn't a date.
But I bet it's totally a date.
I'm meeting Thomas on 78th
and Lexington.
He seems pretty self-assured.
And he knows a lot.
It's gonna be interesting.
I'm so excited.
Thomas was the first person
to encourage me as a photographer.
If it weren't for him, I don't think
I'd still be taking pictures today.
I've always had a tendency
to underestimate myself as an artist.
These are our first photos. This is
handy for the immigration office.
He took me to the Guggenheim Museum
on our first date,
where I first saw
Francesca Woodman's work.
They were showing her self-portraits.
It spoke to me because they also had
her diaries there.
It really resonated with me.
I had also kept
a diary in North Carolina.
And at the exhibition I asked myself,
why did I never try photography?
So I signed up for evening classes
at the School of Visual Arts.
That's how
the whole photo thing started.
So, I don't know how you spot talent.
Is there a natural talent?
Because that's a myth, right?
There is also like,
so much more behind that,
I mean, what is true talent?
How can I say what true talent is?
And then how do I evaluate it?
I think that to name something,
probably dispels the magic.
There it is.
Who's heard of Rembrandt before?
Okay, everybody's heard of Rembrandt
before. That's a little bit...
There's a Hans Holbein over there.
Who's heard of Hans Holbein?
Nobody. Right?
Now, that doesn't mean...
Well, it means a lot, right?
The thing about Rembrandt
is there's a depth. There's a weight.
He's got that pyramid shape.
The gold is on the inside.
You know, you'll see
that he's applying paint,
like, in a rough, deliberate manner.
You'll see that in the brushstrokes,
roughly applied gold.
He painted over 40 self-portraits.
And here he is,
two years after his house
and its contents had been liquidated.
The great bankruptcy of 1556.
So, you know, he's not
painting himself destitute, right?
He's painting himself dressed really.
Clothes matter. And I think
that he is putting on a mask for us
to a certain extent
through the clothing.
Don't you create who you are
or how you want to be seen?
I mean, you do that
in how you dress every day.
You choose to dress a certain way
and go out on the street
and present yourself a certain way.
I put on a tie today. I'm not wearing
what I was wearing when I was in bed.
You know, I got up. I got dressed.
You know, as myself.
I present myself as myself.
Rembrandt as an artist,
who does all these self-portraits,
can present himself
as lots of different things,
lots of different points. Clothes
always matter in a certain sense.
It's part of image, you know?
Do you see the difference between
the Whistler and the Rembrandt?
Do you feel the difference
in the weight?
Do you understand the difference
in terms of what feels
like durability in the painting?
Good work.
- Hi, what's your name?
- Mark.
I want to see your show
at the Czech Center.
Yes. Oh, my gosh!
How do you know?
That's so crazy.
Because good work draws attention.
Oh, that's so sweet. Oh, my gosh.
That made my day.
Yeah. I'm surprised
you don't hear it more often.
Jesus. That was sweet.
I thought he was kidding.
That's good, right?
Jesus, am I famous already?
He recognized me! Dude!
I always put in the wrong one.
- Hey, Thomas!
- Just a second.
I got some important mail.
I am. I like the stuff.
And I like... working with you.
Okay. So...
"United States of America,
employment authorization.
Tomanov Marie."
There's my photo
next to the statue of liberty.
I can start doing some cool jobs.
Hi, Mom. I'm coming home.
"Please protect your card." Okay.
- Are you excited?
- I'm hungry.
Do you consider yourself
a young American now?
Kind of, yes.
No, I'm not officially American yet,
but I'm kind of hoping I will be,
and I will be a proud American,
I think.
I really admire Marie
because she came from
a small farm in the Czech Republic.
All I had to do was cross
the George Washington Bridge
from New Jersey, you know?
And it's like...
I think that it's, you know,
just that spirit alone.
And then, like, her tenacity,
you know, just to, like, really.
I always really believe
in the New York hustle.
I think it is a real thing,
and I love it.
when people have, like, five jobs
and you know, just to, like, by film,
to do the thing that they love
and just to, like, be,
you know, to stick around,
to, like, you know,
to swim, you know.
I always think of the philosophy,
New York super swim,
people that have that hustle,
like, actually can swim.
And, you know, they can...
They can make the dream happen.
And I also think that there's a...
There should be, you know...
There needs to be
more female photographers.
But I've got behind in the beginning,
like Sandy Kim, Petra Collins,
like, Rochelle Brock,
Sabrina Santiago, you know, Marie.
Like, it's just...
It's really needed.
- It's amazing.
- It's something that's missing.
It's amazing, Ryan,
It's really amazing that you do this.
And you know what?
I really love your work.
After I met you
and we were sitting in the gallery
when you actually came to see
my show, which I couldn't believe.
That was such a formative moment
for me.
What you do for young people,
and, you know, just the way you are
was so inspiring.
It was even better than your work.
Believe me, I really love your work.
Thank you.
All right, I think we've covered
a lot of great ground here, you two.
Do you think it was weird at the end?
Everybody was quiet.
I just wanted to say
how beautiful he is.
That it's better than his work?
Is that stupid?
Did I say something stupid?
No. I mean, I wouldn't have said
it's better than his work.
- I didn't mean it like that.
- Yeah, I know. I would have just...
I didn't mean it like that.
- But they know that.
- I hope, yeah.
His work is great.
Everybody knows that. Come on.
- Was everyone really quiet?
- Yeah.
Oh, come on.
Did I say anything else stupid?
- No, I think it was great.
- I was really nervous.
It was great.
He said beautiful things about you.
- He's really sweet.
- "I think it's better than his work."
I didn't mean it that way.
Did it sound that way?
I said that,
but I didn't mean it that way.
- Better than his work?
- Haven't you ever heard that saying,
- you never go home again?
- It's just crazy.
- Did it sound weird?
- You spend too long here.
You can't go home again.
Two, four, six...
Eight, ten, 12, 14,
16, 18, 20.
I have, like, 40 rolls of film.
If we're going for 21 days,
that's two rolls a day.
- One black and white, one color.
- Okay.
I have enough film.
It's gonna be good.
Nike shoes, Martens boots, Converse.
Not sure if that's gonna fit in.
I don't care about the skirt,
sunglasses, belt, fanny pack.
I can't find the card.
I can't find my travel document, so,
theoretically I can't leave the US.
We're supposed to fly
to Czechia for Christmas in ten days.
I'll send this to everyone
when I don't come for Christmas.
I've looked all over.
The couch. We lifted the carpet.
I don't know where else to look.
I've waited eight years for this.
I get the card and I can finally go
and the card gets lost
ten days before departure?
It's really absurd.
Dust... everywhere.
And the card... nowhere.
Damn it.
I don't know, Maru. I really don't.
Mom even rescheduled her wedding day
because of me.
Whatever it was, something
always just went wrong with us.
Dad was mowing the lawn
and cut his thumb off.
So I've been looking everywhere
for three days.
- Well, tell me, how does it get lost?
- I don't know.
I don't know.
I've never lost anything yet.
Oh, honey.
And what does Thomas say?
Nothing.
What's he supposed to say, right?
Okay, well,
I'm still hoping that, like...
I'll open something somewhere
and find it.
Look, I'll see you in the spring.
Can't be helped,
yeah, that's the way it is. Well.
Okay.
It's burnt.
Hey, guys!
I'm gonna have a solo show in Berlin!
Good, right?
Yeah. Excellent. Fantastic. Great.
Excellent. Yeah. Very nice.
I might never get there.
I would not be nasty.
We just need to control ourselves
to not be rude,
because they can red flag my case.
I can't believe you'd work
with a documentarian
that doesn't even have
proper equipment.
- She does.
- Shot on iPhone.
- Look, this is Thomas Street.
- Could we go, please?
It's your street. I hope they have
Marie Street right next to it.
Fingers crossed. Fingers crossed.
Got it. We got it.
- Let's just get...
- It wasn't easy.
- I can't believe they gave it to us.
- I don't think they were going.
Then I was crying.
She came back, and I don't know.
She just... I don't know,
decided that she will actually do it.
She gave it to us. So I have a card
valid for another year.
Oh, my God. I can't believe it.
High five. High five.
Now, he's gonna chase me.
Now he's gonna chase me even more.
Hey.
So, I got a new camera for Czech.
That's very sweet of you, thank you.
- Does it have a date stamp?
- Yes.
It's like
some fancy James Bond trick.
- So, you can select the date, right?
- I've already set it.
- And what is WNT?
- That... Well, press it.
Oh, that's the zoom.
See what it's gonna do.
Oh, super slow flash, huh?
Oh, that even felt warm on my face.
What am I gonna take pictures of
for 36 frames?
Thomas, look at me.
We are going to Czech.
We are going to Czech.
Are you looking forward
to going home?
Yes and no. Mixed feelings.
I guess it's just been too long
since I've been there.
Some stupid inside talk. That I'll
get it and maybe I'll also get how
those seven years
were really long and important
and that I just wasn't there for it.
New York, landing, yes? 8:16
It's already the second one above.
- Do you see it?
- But it's not here yet.
Hi, Mom! Cool!
Hello, Wili.
Thomas, Wili.
When my mom found a new boyfriend,
I said he wasn't coming
to live with us.
It was a no-brainer.
My mom moved to Austria with him.
It's nice to finally see you
after all these years.
I haven't spoken to him in,
like, two years.
Whenever I saw him, I didn't talk
to him. I just ignored him.
Hey, Maru!
But you have a fancy camera!
- Look at that fancy camera.
- I'm a little jealous.
What little things you have.
Wili. Yes.
That must have been horrible,
totally, like I was...
Well, the brat that I was,
I think I was like...
It's okay.
I don't think
I've always been considerate
and understanding with the family.
Brno! Prague! Brno! Prague!
Cool, we're going home!
How many horses do we have, Mom? Two?
- How many goats do we have?
- Three old and four young ones.
Bye. Hey! Hey! Hello!
Hi. Hey, puppy.
Is that...? I don't know that one.
Wow, rabbits!
Here they are. Well, hello!
The goat was scared of me a bit.
Goat, goat.
That'll be a good portrait.
Okay.
- It's okay. No, no, no.
- I got it.
And the same old,
same old, that's good.
- Why would we change it, right?
- Exactly.
It's Ra, isn't it?
- Boha!
- It's Boha?
The cat has gone into hiding.
Cool. Cool.
This is my room, Thomas.
It's been eight years.
- We can throw a lot of this away.
- Check it out. There's a lot there.
Cool.
I was a pretty horrible painter.
- Look at this one here.
- Yeah, I know.
What is that? What is this?
- For horses. For the sledges...
- Yes, yes, yes, yes.
- I won't be able to do it properly.
- Try it!
Yeah, I'm thinking Wili's much more
interesting than Marie. Huh?
Let's do it this way.
Oh, my God,
I haven't been here for eight years.
Hello! Hi!
Dude... There, there!
I don't swear that much but now...
I don't know, I haven't
fully realized that I'm here yet.
It's like... It's a bit weird sitting
in a pub with you guys,
but it'll work out.
It's always the same here.
We're sitting at the same table
- as eight years ago.
- That's why.
Is that good or depressing?
It's okay. It's okay.
As if anything is unchanging,
when many other things are changing.
Same as it was, same as it was.
Jesus, that's really depressing.
Maybe it's the jet lag. It's weird.
I feel like I don't belong here.
Hey, I want to take a picture of you.
Great, that's right, take a little
look at me, thank you. Come on.
- It's very flashy, isn't it?
- Yeah.
Thank you. Perfect.
What's your name? Iva.
Iva? Marie, nice to meet you.
Hello. Thank you.
I want to take a photo
of them in the corner,
but I'm a little shy,
so I need to warm up a bit.
- You being shy?
- You bet. I'm always shy.
Bye.
It felt good at the end,
beginning was little strange.
I guess. I don't know.
God, it's so quiet here.
That's what I don't like.
I don't like quiet.
I used to walk here all the time,
and it just feels...
I don't have my heart in it in a way
or something, I don't know.
Sometimes the past
is like shedding skin.
It was what it was.
Or maybe it's just normal and good
to move to different places
and make new homes, you know?
How do you think about not leaving?
I don't know, is there
any difference? I don't know.
Or is there not? It's crazy.
Come on. Don't get different
with me like that.
If a tree falls in the woods, and no
one's there, did it make a sound?
- Yeah, it made a sound, hello.
- Yeah.
You know? Is there a God?
Yes, there is a God.
- Really?
- We talk about it, there's a God.
People believe there is a God.
That doesn't mean it actually exists.
It exists as a word. It exists
as a concept, that's enough.
You know? I mean, it doesn't have
to take some sort of material shape,
or form in order to exist.
It exists as an idea.
Come on. No arguments about that.
And is there a difference
between leaving your home
and going someplace else? Yeah.
What is that difference?
I don't know.
- That's the shirt I wore every day.
- Let's see.
It had, like, these special sleeves.
- Yeah.
- It's disgusting.
I know, right? And really worn.
I really thought that was awesome.
Well, you need to think about what
you want to save for your thing.
Maybe you want to save that
and those jeans.
Put on that Puma shirt, what I think
of when I think of Eastern Europe.
- And low jeans.
- Yeah. There you go.
You're back. Coming back in...
in whatever, Mikulov.
- They fit!
- Where were they?
In the closet.
- Ripped pants...
- They're cut so low, huh?
Terrible.
Kind of old. Horrible, huh?
Before you throw anything out,
what has resonance with you?
What is emblematic of you then?
I like to stand out.
Transformation complete.
- Yeah, totally, right?
- Yeah, I know.
This is the same picture
that I used to take a lot.
- Yeah, it is.
- Just with a different boyfriend.
Oh, Jesus. True.
Here, let me show you my penis.
That's horrible. I have so many
nude pictures of guys in this bed.
Yeah, that's true. That's why
I'm so comfortable sleeping in it.
- It really looks like back then.
- That's the power of clothes.
This is my dad's sweater.
I wore that all the time.
This was my favorite sweater.
That was my only sweater I have left.
I thought my dad was bigger, I can't
believe he would fit in the sweater.
The past is not glamorous.
- The past is not glamorous?
- No.
Weird, huh? Weird.
- Past is not what I remembered.
- And what did you remember?
Well, I thought
it was all really pretty cute...
and awesome.
And it's just bunch of junk.
It's a lot of junk.
I don't know what I am.
I think I need couple days to process
what I'm thinking and feeling.
- Should we leave?
- No.
I don't like who I was before.
- Really? Why not?
- Yeah.
I was confused, dumb
and not knowing what I was doing.
I'm glad that we live in New York.
Oh, you know
what's the obvious move here.
What?
It's all my discarded clothes.
- But look at me. Oh, yeah. Wili.
- Yes?
- Should I smile?
- Thank you.
If you would stay here,
you don't have to do anything...
- I'll tell you something...
- Partying.
You know, I had that article rejected
and that's put a lot of stress on me
to do it.
You know, like, I have to redo it
before January 25th.
I've been kind of stressed over it.
I don't know if the struggle is
necessary for personal growth.
You know what I mean?
It doesn't have to be hard.
At least that hard, I mean, maybe.
With an artist, it's like you need to
be poor and suffer for your art.
Picasso didn't suffer and I don't
really think Matisse suffered either.
You know, again,
the suffering is linked
to a particular generation
of artists.
Romantic suffering, romanticism,
you must suffer.
Why must I suffer for something?
Why must I suffer for something
to be good?
I suppose if you would change that
to working hard
and devoting yourself
or dedicating yourself,
I mean, that you probably have to do.
And if that is suffering,
then yes, you have to suffer.
But if you enjoy your work,
then is it really suffering?
And if you don't enjoy your work,
then why are you doing it?
With a lot of Marie's work,
I don't know
that she values the photographs.
I don't know that she values the
photographs, as much as she values...
I'll try. The flakes might fall in.
...the experience of taking
those pictures.
It could work.
I hope
that we will take off tomorrow.
I think the photograph is really
just a trace of what she does.
The real thing is the moment
at which that photograph is taken.
- Are you hungry?
- I don't know. What's going on?
- Look, I made a salad.
- What?
He's not hungry enough.
Look what he's doing.
- The food's on the table.
- I know.
You're not supposed to say anything.
You're a documentarian.
It's nice to be home.
I'll take a picture of you
in a minute.
Can I actually have you together
for a minute?
Beautiful.
One more.
Actually, hold on.
Thank you.
- Are you here just for Fashion Week?
- Yeah.
I think we're gonna do that.
- Can I take a picture of you?
- Yeah.
Since you already have it on?
I'm publishing a book.
It's coming out at the end of March.
Thank you.
I haven't seen her yet. This is Lili.
Richie. Who else do I know?
There are some pretty big
Instagram stars here.
You both are in the book
that I'm publishing.
I'm publishing my first book.
I've been working on it like, crazy.
I have deadline on Monday,
so I'm really crazy.
- How many pages is that?
- 144.
- When does it go to print?
- Next week.
Oh, sorry.
- Wow. I love your outfit!
- Thank you.
All right.
- Anything else?
- No, that's it, please.
Should I say I've been working on
my book as you suggested before? No?
I just told you what to say.
You don't want it on camera
I'm telling you what to say.
Why not? I always discuss everything
with you. It's not a secret.
Hey, Ryan, I've been working on
my book. I wanted to ask if you...
- Would write a little thing for it.
- "Would write..."
It would mean the world to me,
- but I understand if you're busy.
- It would be such an honor.
What to say at the end?
I don't know, some emoji hearts,
or something like that.
You!
Press send.
It's done. Okay, cool.
Okay.
Send the good vibes in the universe.
Let's eat, boss.
- I don't know.
- Thank you!
Thank you. Oh, my God.
Let the girls inside!
Not once did it flash, man.
When we do the edit just like that
is a great pairing.
- It is, yeah.
You know what I mean?
That makes both those pictures
kind of interesting.
Right? If we don't like the picture,
then it's like I don't want to put it
in there as a pairing necessarily.
You see what I mean? This image
bothers me. This image bothers me.
This image I don't particularly love,
and I never have.
- I like this one more. How about you?
- Let me see both of them.
Okay.
- Put that in that pile right there.
- That one?
You got 60 pictures that you want
to be your favorite 60 pictures.
The strongest 60 pictures.
That's what you want.
The strongest 60 pictures.
That's that.
These are all yeses.
- These are our maybes.
- We're almost done with the book.
These are still on the running.
And these are out, out of yes
but still in the running.
These are out of yes, out of maybe...
- Lazy little thing.
- Tired.
All right, let's go, guys.
- Wait a minute. Is somebody coming?
- Yes.
Yeah, my friend is coming over
to have sex with somebody.
Thomas is making him
a really big favor, really big favor.
That we are lending him our apartment
to have sex right now.
It's crazy.
- I got message from Ryan.
- Oh, really?
Oh, holy shit. It's long.
"Marie has great energy
with big wide eyes.
I like Marie because she has a warm
heart and an enthusiastic spirit.
Sometimes that's one
of the most important characteristics
in being a successful photographer.
Her subjects want to pose for her
because they love her.
Being Czech
is kind of her superpower.
Her subjects are more open to being
photographed
by someone from another country,
who may not be a representative
of anyone
they might have ever known or met.
In Marie's world,
people can just simply be.
I wish all of America's youth culture
looked like Marie's photos
of downtown, diverse and inclusive."
What do you think?
What are you thinking?
Why do I have to say
what I am thinking? Huh?
Very nice, yeah, I mean, it's great.
It's fantastic.
Fantastic.
You should be really happy.
- Can you imagine...
- Well, text him and tell him.
"Oh, my God. That's so sweet..."
Can you imagine that the guy
I admired the most that...
Right after Thomas...
Sorry.
Ryan is gay. It's fine.
The guy who I admire the most,
after Thomas,
wrote such a long thing on me
which means he thought about me.
Oh, my God. That's so sweet.
It didn't happen to me at school,
really, with my other professors
at school, I guess, yeah,
but this is another kind of help
that just... I don't know.
It's very precious.
You know how beautiful a world
we would have?
It would be amazing if people
would want to help each other.
- We have 66 images in the book.
- Yeah.
Kate and Odie have a picture
in the last photo in the layout.
I thought that looked kind of silly.
They also have the same photo right
after that 'cause it's on the cover.
What did you think about that?
Did it bother you?
Well, I mean, we could just take
the Kate and Odie out of the book.
Or maybe
if it's not on the very back.
Thomas, can you get the toilet paper?
No.
I thought you were supposed
to steal some from work.
Fuck, I forgot the milk.
What am I gonna do with this?
You see that?
How's that for, that? What about it?
That's messed up. It's messed up.
That'll make Thomas cuss.
He said it three times,
"Make sure it's well wrapped."
What do you think?
I think that these boxes
need to be a lot more sturdy.
Like, these are just not proper boxes
for 50 pounds of books.
No Bubble Wrap, there is not a hint
of fucking Bubble Wrap in here.
You know what there is?
Who packed this?
- What's in there?
- Piece of paper.
So, let's see here.
David won't sell a book like that.
- You think? Let me see.
- No. Definitely not.
- Yeah.
- You know.
Like, that's... It's the corners
of the books that are delicate.
There is damage. That again
is damaged right there. Look.
- Here too.
- And here too, probably.
No one's gonna buy a damaged book.
We can't have damaged books.
Like, you know.
I mean, that's just a fact.
That looks good, except the damaged
corner which shows here.
Yeah, beautiful.
I mean, it's absolutely beautiful.
It's really, really nice.
We'll send copy to your mom
and my mom.
- What is that?
- I don't know.
It's like damage
on the inside of the front cover.
And it's there too.
I mean, it's like something
was set on top of the paper.
This is probably gonna be there
everywhere.
No.
Yay, I have a book.
Look, I think the book looks great.
I mean, I think it looks great,
it looks fantastic.
You know, the book itself
looks fantastic. It looks great.
It looks beautiful.
Well, those things
aren't centered on there.
This has been our biggest project
from, like, the last six months.
- Seven.
- Yeah.
Well, I don't have the time
or the resources to fly to Czech,
oversee the printing to make sure
this will not happen again,
be there for the binding and bring
the book before the book launch.
That's what it is.
Let me ask you.
I mean, how do you feel about that?
- You want to reprint the whole book?
- How do you feel about that?
I mean, what is your feeling on it?
Like, how do you feel about it?
There is one of our major spreads,
and, you know, it's one of three
that does that.
I mean, am I being too direct?
Like, the fact that matter is that
we put a lot of time and effort
into trying to get a product here.
I mean, it's kind of like I buy a car
and there's a fucking cut
in the seat or a dent in a bumper.
I mean, it's like,
I'm disappointed with that.
What can I say? Like...
Look at that.
Damage on the paper.
Dude, like a cut. That's a cut!
Get them to reprint the fucking book
on a different paper
and ship it to us immediately.
- You know, I mean, right?
- I don't think I can manage that.
I hope people will still like it.
If only it could be straightened out.
Eighteen good ones,
which means we don't have
enough books for the book launch.
So all the books that are printed
on this paper have this flaw?
So let's recap.
Since it's impossible
to print the books
without defects until the 27th,
I'm going to try to arrange for FedEx
to pick up four boxes
so that I have, say, 80 or 75 books
in New York before the 27th.
Thank God we didn't make 1,000 books.
- Keep going.
- I need a break.
Or maybe if we would live in a place
with an elevator.
God, we're even running out of space.
Yeah, we don't have a place
to put them. Grab the couch.
This looks good. Yeah,
they did much better job packing it.
Thank you so much for coming.
- It's super cute and huge!
- It's not for me. Please pass it on.
- Steven, do you spell it like this?
- I do, yeah.
Okay. My spelling is not that good.
I'm just sitting here like a juror.
Hey! Oh, my God.
Thank you for coming.
Congratulations,
I brought you these pretty flowers.
That's so sweet.
- One is for Evelina.
- Okay.
She is a photographer from Cuba.
She sent me here.
- She loves what you do.
- That's so amazing!
- What's your name?
- Camilla.
- Camilla. Marie.
- So nice to finally meet you.
You're such an inspiration. I've been
looking forward to this for so long.
I'm so excited to see you,
I'll sign it for you in a second.
Hi! Oh, my God, yeah, hi!
Yeah. So, you made a book too.
That's amazing.
Oh, this is so sweet.
This is so sweet.
- But this is not your book.
- It doesn't matter.
Where did you print it?
They did a great job.
Thank you. It means very much.
And I love your paper too.
You know, you get ten kids in a room,
and you see
who's gonna be a better runner.
It's the one who can run the fastest
at that time. Is that true or not?
Or is it the kid who, for example,
might, like, have something else.
Have a certain tenacity.
Britney Spears
once said something like...
"How did you make it?
"I just didn't give up
when everybody else did."
And maybe that's the talent.
It's not giving up.
So I'm writing down with Balenciaga,
we cannot mix with other brands.
The eventual color correction
will be done
at your offices with your people,
right?
We would not have to pay for that?
$10,000.
That's a little budget?
She said there is no budget.
$10,000, which needs to cover my fee
and all the production costs
from buying film
and film processing.
- Good.
- There's actually some money for me.
There is a binder clip.
- Is it Balenciaga bag?
- Yeah, that's Balenciaga.
- What is this?
- Try it on.
Okay,
now, put the Gucci shoes on then.
Yeah, that's good, right? Unless
she's too big for, but we can try.
- Is she too big? How big is she?
- I don't know. I saw her only once!
- Is that down here?
- Yeah, it kind of looks cool though.
You're in Gucci and a little Dolce.
Next time Marie is doing anything,
I am going to leave on vacation
a week before and not come back.
Is it even flashing?
I think it's important
to get things done.
I think the camera is too hot.
As right as you can.
But as right as you can
is probably never really perfect.
You always fall short of that.
There's time and money constrictions.
There's some other constriction.
Could be emotional, too. Who knows?
- I'll text you soon. Bye.
- Thank you. Thank you, guys.
- I'm so done. So old.
- Dude, dude, it's 90 degrees out.
Twelve rolls I shot. That's a lot.
So, if we keep up this speed,
it's gonna be at least $2,000
in developing the film.
- We don't have to make that now.
- I'm just playing.
While I got the energy,
we're gonna do edits every night.
I don't have the energy,
so I'm just gonna, like, look.
And I'm not gonna really say...
So good.
I like that one a lot.
Doesn't show a lot of the fashion.
- Who cares?
- They care.
I know, but it shows enough.
No, it doesn't.
It doesn't say Gucci on it.
I think it's a great shot.
We should have it in the selection.
Dude, I'm not saying that. All I'm
saying is what it is. That's all.
Oh, that's nice. Right?
Looks like Ryan's picture.
I love this. This is everything, wow.
It's almost like a sun drop.
Do you know what I mean?
It's like one of those little drops
where it's rainbows radiating out.
- It's like he's falling into sky.
- That's a sun drop. This is it.
- He looks like he's crucified.
- Yeah.
Thank you for help. I would never do
without you Thomas. This is crazy.
- Yeah.
- So, we have ten more shoots to go.
You have time, right? What else you
would be doing, your own career?
Done. Another roll is done.
I'm tired.
You think it's gonna be different in,
you know, two weeks?
And it's another $100
to shoot at least just in car fare.
I took the train.
I would have gotten her
in this other tuxedo in this here.
And let her go with it.
I would have got her out of that
dress as soon as it didn't look good.
And you've got to see it, like...
Odie doesn't look good
and that's out of focus, isn't it?
It's just... We're looking for,
like, really strong pictures.
Sometimes, you can look
at two different pictures,
and they're fairly similar, and one
is clearly better than the other.
And sometimes you can look
at two pictures,
and it's not always clear
whether one is better than the other.
It's a beautiful photo though.
- Gorgeous.
- Let me see.
Sometimes you can say to yourself,
well, does it really matter?
Is one really better than the other?
Does it really matter?
I guess with painting
that's not what happens.
A lot of it has to do with context,
you know?
You put a photograph
in a fashion magazine,
it's a fashion photograph.
You put a photograph at MoMA
and it's not. Right?
That's really probably it.
It's what you say it is. Right?
I think that's the difficult thing,
you know, particularly
as a young photographer like Marie,
is to negotiate
those two spaces, really.
And the trick with building a career
is the negotiation
of those two spaces.
Tomanov photographs her subjects
coming and going out
as they would like to be dressed
if they could afford
the highest-end fashions
mixed in with their own clothes.
For me it is like looking at
a movie version of a lost memory.
New York
is where you want to make it.
You make it in New York,
you'll make it anywhere.
Are we in this paper?
We're in New York Times .
Not just a newspaper. Huh?
Well, dreams come true.
Hungry with enough hard work.
There are some top people
from Calvin Klein.
- They want to shoot with me.
- Good.
Calvin Klein, baby.
They'll be so good.
Congratulations,
I saw The New York Times .
I know!
I'm just now shooting for them.
Wow, it's huge!
I think that this is a better size.
It's very nice to work with you.
- It's the most fun to work with you.
- We do a nice job.
My gold medals.
I got them as a reward for myself,
as my gold medals
for my first two really big jobs
that I got for Instagram.
- How long before we clash?
- I don't know. I don't know.
A lot of skills
go into being an artist today
that aren't just about making the art
or having talent.
You need to be a business person
and a marketer.
You need to be
a public relations firm. All of this.
It's a very tough career. A lot of
creative careers are very tough
because there's not a clear path
to success monetarily.
- I'm nervous, Thomas.
- I know you are, baby.
- You've done this before, you know?
- No, it's not true.
I've done lots of self-portraiture
of myself with myself only.
No other ten people watching me.
I've never done a self-portraiture
story of, like, 20 images
that you need to nail
or 15, 20 in one day.
You know what?
When we were on the roof...
- The lampoon I shot in three days.
- When we were on the roof, right?
You did a really good job
with yourself.
You're used to self-portraiture.
Don't think of it as anything else.
Like, you know,
you really do know what to do.
Don't let all this block you.
And if you need to talk to me,
we can always step away.
So, I know New York New York .
What's the one in the middle?
It was so the very first one
is called Young American ,
the one you don't know about.
It was my first book.
Ryan McGinley wrote the introduction
for it,
and it was a big hit,
and it sold out really fast.
Now it's a collectible,
'cause it was a limited edition.
- That's awesome.
- It is pretty good.
I was selling it for 40 bucks,
and I was on eBay for, like, 350.
- That's cool.
- Wish I would have kept more copies.
- So, I like how we are set up now.
- Yes.
You know why artists
do self-portraits?
How's that, Marie?
Why this interest in self?
That's great. I like that.
That's shooting a little bit lower.
- We should get going.
- Yeah.
The self-portrait is really turning
the apparatus on oneself
versus turning it around
and facing the world.
Do you want to load two Contaxes
or one?
- Just one.
- Okay.
The essence of the self-portrait
is this idea of interiority.
And it's also why it's so powerful
because you have this artist
who is already an interesting
character in the world.
I was recently on a shoot
and felt like I...
I thought I lost my wedding ring.
- Oh, my God.
- I found it.
- This is nice.
- We will do that for sure.
And so maybe what an artist
is hoping to do
with self-portraiture
is to see themselves.
Of course,
that's why we're interested,
because we really want to see
what they are.
How do you portray a person?
Portraits about status and power.
Self-portraiture is...
God, it's a real different animal,
isn't it?
Okay, you got the moves. So good.
I'm still the same.
Completely different,
but still the same.
Sometimes on the street,
the wind blows in my hair.
You can feel that it's moving.
Always, wow.
Hair.
I can feel it.
I can feel it completely.
Wait a minute. I'll shave it again
and it'll be nothing.
My foot is...
I've got a sprained ankle.
I shouldn't be standing.
- Lay down.
- I've got to somehow supervise this.
- I got it. I know how to do it now.
- Really?
It's a beautiful view. It's nice to
have so much light and see the sky.
They're building another building.
I hope it won't block
our view over here too much.
No, you should do this.
Like, have it like, like...
- No! Let me see.
- Later.
- No, I want to see that.
- Later. Would you stop?
Everything you're doing
is on film right now.
You know what's really important,
I think, in a relationship
is being able to get along
with somebody.
- Easygoingness. Is that a word?
- And humor.
- Is that a word? Easy-going-ness.
- I don't know.
I think easy to get along with.
Hi, Amadou. It's Professor Beachdel.
How are you?
Remember we talked about linear
perspective in the renaissance?
And how many pictures
do you think you will be using?
Do you have a rough idea?
I am leaving today actually,
in half an hour.
When I get back,
I can start shooting right away.
Hi, Yassin. How are you? Good.
You want to talk about your paper?
What do you think?
How do you think you did?
You think you did good?
Well, I think you did.
I think there's a few things you can
do to make it a little bit better.
I left the Czech Republic thinking
I would never be an artist,
and I didn't have what it takes
and I left as an au pair.
I worked for families,
babysitting, cleaning out
their dishwashers, wiping toilets.
The hardest thing is for a person
to realize in their own mind
that they can do what they want to do
and that there is no need
to have their own limits.
Yeah, I already have the book.
Signed and I have a picture with her.
- So, can I do it in English?
- English is fine.
- Super. Veronica?
- Veronica.
That's more people than New York.
That's crazy.
Is this book of photographs
a follow-up to Young American?
Even though they're still portraits
of young people,
the book is different
in a fundamental way.
Young American was about
being close to those people,
somehow being part of them.
And what's very apparent to me about
the new book, New York New York ,
is that I've been... Actually, I felt
like I could stand further away.
I was comfortable with the fact
that I already belonged in New York,
because I've had the opportunity
to go to the Czech Republic before.
And by being able to go back home,
I lifted so much of the burden
of wanting to belong in America.
But suddenly it all kind of fell away
and I feel like I belong there.
I'm still at the beginning
and there's still so much to do
and I'm really looking forward to it.
- Hello.
- We have the very last book, I think.
That's cool.
That's so cool. I can't believe it.
Hi, all! We...
Czech, sorry. We don't have books.
It's all been bought.
You're amazing. Thank you so much.
Three, two, one now, maybe!
Crazy face.
Crazy face and Thomas smiles.
Look at that. Oh, my God.
Oh, my gosh. Better.
It's pretty thick and it's wet.
- Why is it wet?
- That's developer.
We're a good match.
- You think?
- Yeah.
Mom. Thank you!
What is home? Is it where you were
born? Where you lived the most?
Is it where your parents are?
So many butterflies here!
Is it your ancestral home,
for lack of a better word?
What does home mean?
There's a very, like, you know,
strong connection
to where you are from. Right?
Which is probably very human.
And the other one.
But also sometimes maybe
there's a reason why you left.
It's from when my dad died.
- Mommy.
- Yes.
- Mommy.
- Yes.
The way he has the feather.
Can you hear the bees?
For Marie, I think it's...
She loves home.
She wants to be home.
But it's also difficult.
Pretty, huh?
- What's that other thing in front?
- Power plant.
A little imperfection
makes it more real.
Truly pretty.
That's how I imagine it always looks
that ideal sunset in LA.
- Oh, yeah?
- Over the ocean.
I've never seen the sunset
by the ocean in LA.
- Can we do it sometimes?
- Maybe.
Look, it's almost over.
Wow, it goes fast.
Sorry, sorry.
There's so many people here!
Can I take a picture of you, please?
Thank you!
Hi! Could I take a portrait of you,
please? Yeah!
Can I take a picture of you in front
of that wall?
- What's your name?
- True.
- True?
- Yes. What's your name?
- Marie.
- It's nice to meet you!
Wait, one more.
I love your colors!
Hold on!
Thank you!
- Hey!
- Hey!
Sorry, I'm going out.
All right, good afternoon, everyone.
As you know we will be talking
about portraiture today.
I'm not gonna give you
a history of portraiture
like sort of an even trajectory of...
I don't know, anything.
I'm going to talk
about an extended meaning.
What's a portrait?
A portrait is really simple.
I take a picture of you
and if I name you
and say, "This is so and so, right?"
That's a portrait.
So, a portrait has to be
a name likeness. That's it!
So, what's the difference?
What difference
does the name make, right?
You're you, right?
I paint you. I call you you.
You're the same person. It's
a portrait of you. You matter, right?
But portraiture is more complex
because it's about
communicating values, right?
And often art is really about
communicating values.
The value of this one is
that this person will last forever.
And it's made out
of a really hard stone.
Up until the 20th, 21st centuries,
portraits were done
of important people.
I hate that term. I'm not saying
that one person is more important.
Is that what we're talking about.
I'm bored with kings and queens.
I'm bored with white guys
with light coming out of their head.
I'm bored with all of that.
Give me something that makes me,
I guess think, right? Or feel.
This is a Manhattan bound M train.
The next stop is Essex Street.
Hey, get back!
And clear up the closing doors,
please.
Done?
No way. Come on.
I just remembered I had a dream.
Eighteen.
- You know what I can't find?
- What?
Boy in the purple suit, remember?
Oh, Bub, I don't know.
I mean, that's a valuable picture.
My inspiration for this whole show.
Well...
It's a real mess.
I'll tell you that much.
Would you double check that the one
in the purple suit is number 14?
Thomas, I never knew
that he acts out so much,
when he gets attention with camera.
Better than me going like this
and standing here, right?
Hey, no! He's biting it.
That's the plastic he likes.
- Look at it. Yeah, look at it.
- Oh, no, it is.
Goddamn it. Not only there is
hair everywhere from the cat...
Hey, listen, you know what?
I was going to give you advice to
keep it away from the cat and dust.
I figured you know
what you're doing.
If we leave this out, he's gonna bite
through the negatives.
Yeah, that's exactly right.
That's exactly what he will do.
Hey, you want a snack?
A cereal bar?
You got to understand
I'm super psyched about this.
That there's gonna be
this documentary film made by you!
I mean, that's so cool!
Listen, I had this dream today
that we had the exhibition.
I was there with Thomas. It was in
a huge building with three floors,
and there was just me
and five other people!
It really bummed me out.
So I hope that isn't gonna happen.
Remember when I said a portrait is
painted and it's a likeness of you.
What you really want in a portrait
is your essence. Like, who are you?
Not just what you look like,
but what you are.
That's where portraiture
gets really interesting.
It's like
there's something else in it.
I think the butt is blown up,
and I think the photo on right
looks darker than on the left.
I think Marie's right. I think
a little bit lighter on this, right?
Is that what you're saying?
And a little darker on here.
At least take the yellow out
and then we get the tub a little...
And there is more blue in that tub,
right? Is that me or...
I can't wait
until you get some assistant.
- I have a perfect assistant.
- Who knows what they're doing.
- I have the best.
- I can't wait until you find somebody
- who knows what they're doing.
- I can't wait
once I'll be able to start paying you
for that.
Yeah, right.
- Take it down for a sec.
- Jesus.
- I want to get the cream on it.
- Jesus.
Little baby Jesus
delivering presents.
- Come on.
- Just relax. I'm doing it.
You see this?
Two hands. Well, you know,
this is because
you had all of that lunch yesterday.
The only way,
why this relationship works,
is because Thomas
is the oldest one from three kids.
And he... I bet he tortured
both of his siblings, like crazy.
The way it works is because
I'm the youngest of three kids.
I got tortured the whole time
from my sisters.
I'm used to it
and I have fun with it!
Hey, man, that's the wrong key.
Okay. This isn't it.
We can leave that.
And that's not it either. So nothing.
What are you waiting for?
A letter from the immigration office.
For a travel permit.
So that I can go home,
after seven years.
Well, what's the difference
between introduction and essay?
That's a good question.
Beautiful, isn't it?
That's the reason I came to New York.
I saw this photo on the internet and
knew I had to come meet the maker.
He's right there.
I've been following your work
for years. I'm so happy.
Where are you from?
- The Philippines.
- Cool.
I have a solo show at the Czech
Center. It's a lot of portraits.
I invited him to my solo show.
He said he would come. Good news!
I can't wait to hear
what my idol thinks of my work.
That looks so good.
And we are on,
like, literally a 64th of an inch.
There. What do you think?
- Are you happy?
- I want to see the whole thing up.
- You think boots are better?
- I think the boots would be better.
Should have some kind of pants.
I'm gonna be moving, I mean, "Hi!"
You see my butt?
It's okay.
I'm trying to find something
for my first solo show next week.
Do you think it works like a dress?
Do you feel like I forgot my pants?
Of course,
Rob will be up there hammering.
Crystal meth inspired sculpture.
- I might ask if she wants to talk.
- Sure.
Yeah, you met her in person
so just be whatever.
You've met her before.
You're gonna be fine. You know her.
- It's great.
- I know.
If only my eye wasn't twitching.
It really was important for me
to be able to connect with people
through photography,
and that's what is really wonderful,
you know, about all of it,
is that I got a chance and reason
to meet people
and photograph them and talk to them
and make friends.
And that really helped me
to all of a sudden have a home
in New York city in a way.
There's around,
like, 180 people in it,
so it's gonna be
really over 200 photos.
If you would have that black thing
it would look better,
because it's dark inside,
so it doesn't show.
- We'll do it next time.
- When we have money.
For many years when I was illegal,
and it wasn't very easy,
and, you know, when I was working
babysitting jobs with all these,
you know, oppressed minorities,
and that's what it was,
because I couldn't do anything better
because I didn't have the right,
or the option to do anything else
because I don't have the right paper.
They also reflect who I am
and that is in a sense also
some kind of a self-portrait with,
through all these people,
because his is my vision of America,
coming from Eastern Europe.
This is America I really like,
and I can relate to.
Who do you want to talk to,
the curator?
Should I try it
or how do you feel about that?
Okay.
All right, Thomas, what should I
do better with the next one?
- I would use the word displacement.
- Displacement, okay.
But otherwise, perfect.
Perfect interview.
Holy shit, yeah, those were,
some questions were tricky,
like, "What do you want your message
as an artist to be in this world?"
And I'm like, "I don't know!"
I just want to do art.
I don't know what kind of message.
- That's up to others to judge, right?
- Yeah. That's great.
And the answer, I think that you're
a genuine and earnest, so it's a...
I mean everything was fine.
- That's fine.
- Yeah.
I look at these pictures.
I haven't tired of looking at them.
There's something special.
I don't know what to say.
Instead of doing that,
I'll just thank Marie.
This is her show
and I'm so happy to be a part of it.
I would like to thank Thomas
for curating such a beautiful show.
I want to thank all the people
who allowed me to photograph them
and how special that is,
that you guys, you know, are all here
and that you are my friends.
That's really
just the most important thing
and I'm already losing my voice
and I'm going to cry.
That's my first solo show.
I never had a solo show.
- You deserve a solo show.
- It's scary.
This is my first solo show, yes.
These are pictures from New York.
I've been here seven years.
And this is my work
from the last two, three years.
How did you get in touch
with the curator?
How did you find him?
We've worked on various projects.
He's known my work for a long time.
Because we've been working together
for a long time,
we found out
this would be the best option.
- Excuse me...
- He has his family here? His wife?
Sister. His sister is here.
I'll be right back.
Let's get out of here!
There is a former minister
of foreign affairs right there
with his wife and the Czech consul
and they were talking to me.
They were like,
"We saw the curator.
He has a family here. He has a wife."
I'm like, "That's a sister."
We don't tell anybody
that we are really married.
I think he thought that you
or maybe you are a wife.
You could pose as her,
like, for the evening.
I find that super funny.
Let me tell you,
it looks so fucking good.
Honestly, like, it's so good.
They have so much expression,
so I'm just thinking
what it was in that moment.
You did an amazing job.
- Really?
- Oh, thank you!
Like somebody is actually staring
at me, into my soul.
I love that
you, like, hold eye contact.
Something, like,
people struggle to do
and I wish that something
happened more in my life.
Yeah, through the eyes,
you really do connect.
Ryan McGinley... the best version
of a male photographer.
I would love to get him
to see the work.
But in my mind, you are even better
because you can see it in the eyes.
All the men can retire.
They're objectifying people
and you are actually not.
I never know what to do when
somebody's pointing camera at me.
- Me too.
- Oh, you do.
Life is so great. Yes.
I've posted everywhere about Ryan,
making sure everybody knows.
He actually showed up, you know?
I mean, he stayed for two hours.
It's crazy
that someone of that caliber
would spend two hours of his time
at a gallery with some girl,
looking at her photos.
And he loved them. He said
I should take pictures every day.
He said
I should definitely publish a book.
That he always just gives his
to people he admires,
gallery owners, big brands,
and others.
Something always comes out of it,
a job or an exhibition.
Now I've gone up 100%
to a whole new level
because an endorsement from Ryan
is just incredible.
That's just freaking crazy.
Everyone he has supported
has thrived and just made it.
Recently,
Mom has been telling me on Skype
that Dad would've been proud
I'm in America.
And it's true,
because fad loved to travel.
He wanted to travel around the world.
He was an adventurer.
I think my mom isn't much
of an adventurer. But my dad was.
Mom's an adventurer on the inside.
Yeah, I'm sure he would've come
to visit me here, too.
He'd come and then we'd go to Mexico
and smoke cigars.
Dad was a bohemian, adventurer,
a little crazy, alcoholic.
And sometimes I'm sorry that,
I won't get that recognition
from a father,
as his youngest daughter.
I was a daddy's girl,
the youngest one.
This is Dad and Mom.
Here's Mom, Grandma, me, and Dad.
Dad and I... See, we were buddies.
This is one of the few photos
of my dad,
and he goes "ta-da" and I go...
I suffered a lot after my dad died.
It took me an awfully long time.
Dad died in November. Two days later,
we celebrated my birthday.
I got a silver necklace
for my 16th birthday,
a necklace and earrings
that my mom and dad bought me,
so I got presents
that dad didn't live to see.
I got a huge book about Dali that Dad
bought me and mom then gave to me.
Everyone was crying. For a few years,
everyone cried at my birthday party
which was pretty traumatizing.
I didn't want to celebrate
my birthday
as it was connected with Dad's death.
I didn't talk to my family
for some time after that.
We drifted apart after my dad died.
I didn't communicate with anyone
at home. I didn't say much to anyone.
But I was also a teenager, so...
Fourteen years ago,
that's crazy, huh?
I had a talk at the Met one evening.
I was standing
in front of this Gauguin painting.
She came up
and stood in front of this painting.
So, I said, "Hello."
An older gentleman with glasses,
wearing a blazer and dress shirt.
He looked at me, so I looked at him,
and I said, "Hi."
Hi! Good to see you.
How have you been?
I continued through the gallery
and 20 minutes later I saw him again
walking with a group of people...
How you doing, Professor?
Hi, how are you doing?
You look so happy. It's so nice.
...giving them a lecture.
Nice to see you. Great! Shall we?
Great. Let's go for it.
We had our lecture on portraiture.
What we're really doing
is connecting this idea
of portraiture to self-portraiture.
I love portraiture.
I love looking at people,
because I look at portraits and they
tell me something about people.
So, what has Whistler done here?
Comte de Montesquiou.
French aristocrat. Right?
Since he'd said hi to me before,
I joined the lecture.
- And he let me.
- I don't really want to be here.
Right, he's too good for this.
He was so passionate about the art.
I even took notes.
The title of the portrait is
Arrangement in Black and Gold.
So where do you see the gold?
He spoke for 90 minutes. I'd never
attended such a great art lecture.
Where's the gold? There's no gold
in the painting. The frame...
When everyone was leaving,
I asked him for his cell number.
I told him
I'd like to go to the gallery again.
...Rembrandt brings the value into
the painting and onto himself.
Right? Whistler frames the value
with that gold.
He took a sticker off his blazer
and wrote his cell number on it.
I still have it.
It's smoky. It's light,
just like Montesquieu himself.
So, does anybody have any questions?
Yuri? Ben?
I think about the lighting.
So, how was he able to kind of define
where the light is in the painting?
And how was he even able to do that?
I guess what looks like a garbage bag
is some sort of cloak, I'm assuming.
Very expensive garbage bag.
Very expensive.
Chinchilla, expensive fur cape.
You know, the so-called enlightenment
convention is of lighting.
You know, the head,
typically some white guy. Right?
To show that he's thinking
and bright and brilliant.
I have no idea what I'm gonna say.
That's a good question.
I don't really know
if I have answer for that.
See, I think it's also because I've
never done photography in Czech.
Though that's not entirely true.
You finish the school,
and you were not at all ready for
how the real world, you know, works.
And especially in being painter.
So, I just...
you know, I was working in a bar
and didn't really know what to do
so I was like, "Well, maybe
I will just go to United States
and I'm gonna be an au-pair
for a year." You know, and...
And I actually had a boyfriend
back then.
I said,
"I'm gonna go for a half a year,
I'm gonna make some money, then come
back home and we get married."
Well, I never came back home.
I, you know... Can you hear me?
Shit.
- Hey, how are you?
- Hey. Hi.
My photos. They are so big.
Nothing here will be useful
for the immigration office.
These photos are really old.
That was before I learned
to shoot on film.
Terrible.
Everything out of focus.
- When was that?
- 2011.
This must be from North Carolina.
Why do I always write about guys?
I have a date on Saturday.
A date that isn't a date.
But I bet it's totally a date.
I'm meeting Thomas on 78th
and Lexington.
He seems pretty self-assured.
And he knows a lot.
It's gonna be interesting.
I'm so excited.
Thomas was the first person
to encourage me as a photographer.
If it weren't for him, I don't think
I'd still be taking pictures today.
I've always had a tendency
to underestimate myself as an artist.
These are our first photos. This is
handy for the immigration office.
He took me to the Guggenheim Museum
on our first date,
where I first saw
Francesca Woodman's work.
They were showing her self-portraits.
It spoke to me because they also had
her diaries there.
It really resonated with me.
I had also kept
a diary in North Carolina.
And at the exhibition I asked myself,
why did I never try photography?
So I signed up for evening classes
at the School of Visual Arts.
That's how
the whole photo thing started.
So, I don't know how you spot talent.
Is there a natural talent?
Because that's a myth, right?
There is also like,
so much more behind that,
I mean, what is true talent?
How can I say what true talent is?
And then how do I evaluate it?
I think that to name something,
probably dispels the magic.
There it is.
Who's heard of Rembrandt before?
Okay, everybody's heard of Rembrandt
before. That's a little bit...
There's a Hans Holbein over there.
Who's heard of Hans Holbein?
Nobody. Right?
Now, that doesn't mean...
Well, it means a lot, right?
The thing about Rembrandt
is there's a depth. There's a weight.
He's got that pyramid shape.
The gold is on the inside.
You know, you'll see
that he's applying paint,
like, in a rough, deliberate manner.
You'll see that in the brushstrokes,
roughly applied gold.
He painted over 40 self-portraits.
And here he is,
two years after his house
and its contents had been liquidated.
The great bankruptcy of 1556.
So, you know, he's not
painting himself destitute, right?
He's painting himself dressed really.
Clothes matter. And I think
that he is putting on a mask for us
to a certain extent
through the clothing.
Don't you create who you are
or how you want to be seen?
I mean, you do that
in how you dress every day.
You choose to dress a certain way
and go out on the street
and present yourself a certain way.
I put on a tie today. I'm not wearing
what I was wearing when I was in bed.
You know, I got up. I got dressed.
You know, as myself.
I present myself as myself.
Rembrandt as an artist,
who does all these self-portraits,
can present himself
as lots of different things,
lots of different points. Clothes
always matter in a certain sense.
It's part of image, you know?
Do you see the difference between
the Whistler and the Rembrandt?
Do you feel the difference
in the weight?
Do you understand the difference
in terms of what feels
like durability in the painting?
Good work.
- Hi, what's your name?
- Mark.
I want to see your show
at the Czech Center.
Yes. Oh, my gosh!
How do you know?
That's so crazy.
Because good work draws attention.
Oh, that's so sweet. Oh, my gosh.
That made my day.
Yeah. I'm surprised
you don't hear it more often.
Jesus. That was sweet.
I thought he was kidding.
That's good, right?
Jesus, am I famous already?
He recognized me! Dude!
I always put in the wrong one.
- Hey, Thomas!
- Just a second.
I got some important mail.
I am. I like the stuff.
And I like... working with you.
Okay. So...
"United States of America,
employment authorization.
Tomanov Marie."
There's my photo
next to the statue of liberty.
I can start doing some cool jobs.
Hi, Mom. I'm coming home.
"Please protect your card." Okay.
- Are you excited?
- I'm hungry.
Do you consider yourself
a young American now?
Kind of, yes.
No, I'm not officially American yet,
but I'm kind of hoping I will be,
and I will be a proud American,
I think.
I really admire Marie
because she came from
a small farm in the Czech Republic.
All I had to do was cross
the George Washington Bridge
from New Jersey, you know?
And it's like...
I think that it's, you know,
just that spirit alone.
And then, like, her tenacity,
you know, just to, like, really.
I always really believe
in the New York hustle.
I think it is a real thing,
and I love it.
when people have, like, five jobs
and you know, just to, like, by film,
to do the thing that they love
and just to, like, be,
you know, to stick around,
to, like, you know,
to swim, you know.
I always think of the philosophy,
New York super swim,
people that have that hustle,
like, actually can swim.
And, you know, they can...
They can make the dream happen.
And I also think that there's a...
There should be, you know...
There needs to be
more female photographers.
But I've got behind in the beginning,
like Sandy Kim, Petra Collins,
like, Rochelle Brock,
Sabrina Santiago, you know, Marie.
Like, it's just...
It's really needed.
- It's amazing.
- It's something that's missing.
It's amazing, Ryan,
It's really amazing that you do this.
And you know what?
I really love your work.
After I met you
and we were sitting in the gallery
when you actually came to see
my show, which I couldn't believe.
That was such a formative moment
for me.
What you do for young people,
and, you know, just the way you are
was so inspiring.
It was even better than your work.
Believe me, I really love your work.
Thank you.
All right, I think we've covered
a lot of great ground here, you two.
Do you think it was weird at the end?
Everybody was quiet.
I just wanted to say
how beautiful he is.
That it's better than his work?
Is that stupid?
Did I say something stupid?
No. I mean, I wouldn't have said
it's better than his work.
- I didn't mean it like that.
- Yeah, I know. I would have just...
I didn't mean it like that.
- But they know that.
- I hope, yeah.
His work is great.
Everybody knows that. Come on.
- Was everyone really quiet?
- Yeah.
Oh, come on.
Did I say anything else stupid?
- No, I think it was great.
- I was really nervous.
It was great.
He said beautiful things about you.
- He's really sweet.
- "I think it's better than his work."
I didn't mean it that way.
Did it sound that way?
I said that,
but I didn't mean it that way.
- Better than his work?
- Haven't you ever heard that saying,
- you never go home again?
- It's just crazy.
- Did it sound weird?
- You spend too long here.
You can't go home again.
Two, four, six...
Eight, ten, 12, 14,
16, 18, 20.
I have, like, 40 rolls of film.
If we're going for 21 days,
that's two rolls a day.
- One black and white, one color.
- Okay.
I have enough film.
It's gonna be good.
Nike shoes, Martens boots, Converse.
Not sure if that's gonna fit in.
I don't care about the skirt,
sunglasses, belt, fanny pack.
I can't find the card.
I can't find my travel document, so,
theoretically I can't leave the US.
We're supposed to fly
to Czechia for Christmas in ten days.
I'll send this to everyone
when I don't come for Christmas.
I've looked all over.
The couch. We lifted the carpet.
I don't know where else to look.
I've waited eight years for this.
I get the card and I can finally go
and the card gets lost
ten days before departure?
It's really absurd.
Dust... everywhere.
And the card... nowhere.
Damn it.
I don't know, Maru. I really don't.
Mom even rescheduled her wedding day
because of me.
Whatever it was, something
always just went wrong with us.
Dad was mowing the lawn
and cut his thumb off.
So I've been looking everywhere
for three days.
- Well, tell me, how does it get lost?
- I don't know.
I don't know.
I've never lost anything yet.
Oh, honey.
And what does Thomas say?
Nothing.
What's he supposed to say, right?
Okay, well,
I'm still hoping that, like...
I'll open something somewhere
and find it.
Look, I'll see you in the spring.
Can't be helped,
yeah, that's the way it is. Well.
Okay.
It's burnt.
Hey, guys!
I'm gonna have a solo show in Berlin!
Good, right?
Yeah. Excellent. Fantastic. Great.
Excellent. Yeah. Very nice.
I might never get there.
I would not be nasty.
We just need to control ourselves
to not be rude,
because they can red flag my case.
I can't believe you'd work
with a documentarian
that doesn't even have
proper equipment.
- She does.
- Shot on iPhone.
- Look, this is Thomas Street.
- Could we go, please?
It's your street. I hope they have
Marie Street right next to it.
Fingers crossed. Fingers crossed.
Got it. We got it.
- Let's just get...
- It wasn't easy.
- I can't believe they gave it to us.
- I don't think they were going.
Then I was crying.
She came back, and I don't know.
She just... I don't know,
decided that she will actually do it.
She gave it to us. So I have a card
valid for another year.
Oh, my God. I can't believe it.
High five. High five.
Now, he's gonna chase me.
Now he's gonna chase me even more.
Hey.
So, I got a new camera for Czech.
That's very sweet of you, thank you.
- Does it have a date stamp?
- Yes.
It's like
some fancy James Bond trick.
- So, you can select the date, right?
- I've already set it.
- And what is WNT?
- That... Well, press it.
Oh, that's the zoom.
See what it's gonna do.
Oh, super slow flash, huh?
Oh, that even felt warm on my face.
What am I gonna take pictures of
for 36 frames?
Thomas, look at me.
We are going to Czech.
We are going to Czech.
Are you looking forward
to going home?
Yes and no. Mixed feelings.
I guess it's just been too long
since I've been there.
Some stupid inside talk. That I'll
get it and maybe I'll also get how
those seven years
were really long and important
and that I just wasn't there for it.
New York, landing, yes? 8:16
It's already the second one above.
- Do you see it?
- But it's not here yet.
Hi, Mom! Cool!
Hello, Wili.
Thomas, Wili.
When my mom found a new boyfriend,
I said he wasn't coming
to live with us.
It was a no-brainer.
My mom moved to Austria with him.
It's nice to finally see you
after all these years.
I haven't spoken to him in,
like, two years.
Whenever I saw him, I didn't talk
to him. I just ignored him.
Hey, Maru!
But you have a fancy camera!
- Look at that fancy camera.
- I'm a little jealous.
What little things you have.
Wili. Yes.
That must have been horrible,
totally, like I was...
Well, the brat that I was,
I think I was like...
It's okay.
I don't think
I've always been considerate
and understanding with the family.
Brno! Prague! Brno! Prague!
Cool, we're going home!
How many horses do we have, Mom? Two?
- How many goats do we have?
- Three old and four young ones.
Bye. Hey! Hey! Hello!
Hi. Hey, puppy.
Is that...? I don't know that one.
Wow, rabbits!
Here they are. Well, hello!
The goat was scared of me a bit.
Goat, goat.
That'll be a good portrait.
Okay.
- It's okay. No, no, no.
- I got it.
And the same old,
same old, that's good.
- Why would we change it, right?
- Exactly.
It's Ra, isn't it?
- Boha!
- It's Boha?
The cat has gone into hiding.
Cool. Cool.
This is my room, Thomas.
It's been eight years.
- We can throw a lot of this away.
- Check it out. There's a lot there.
Cool.
I was a pretty horrible painter.
- Look at this one here.
- Yeah, I know.
What is that? What is this?
- For horses. For the sledges...
- Yes, yes, yes, yes.
- I won't be able to do it properly.
- Try it!
Yeah, I'm thinking Wili's much more
interesting than Marie. Huh?
Let's do it this way.
Oh, my God,
I haven't been here for eight years.
Hello! Hi!
Dude... There, there!
I don't swear that much but now...
I don't know, I haven't
fully realized that I'm here yet.
It's like... It's a bit weird sitting
in a pub with you guys,
but it'll work out.
It's always the same here.
We're sitting at the same table
- as eight years ago.
- That's why.
Is that good or depressing?
It's okay. It's okay.
As if anything is unchanging,
when many other things are changing.
Same as it was, same as it was.
Jesus, that's really depressing.
Maybe it's the jet lag. It's weird.
I feel like I don't belong here.
Hey, I want to take a picture of you.
Great, that's right, take a little
look at me, thank you. Come on.
- It's very flashy, isn't it?
- Yeah.
Thank you. Perfect.
What's your name? Iva.
Iva? Marie, nice to meet you.
Hello. Thank you.
I want to take a photo
of them in the corner,
but I'm a little shy,
so I need to warm up a bit.
- You being shy?
- You bet. I'm always shy.
Bye.
It felt good at the end,
beginning was little strange.
I guess. I don't know.
God, it's so quiet here.
That's what I don't like.
I don't like quiet.
I used to walk here all the time,
and it just feels...
I don't have my heart in it in a way
or something, I don't know.
Sometimes the past
is like shedding skin.
It was what it was.
Or maybe it's just normal and good
to move to different places
and make new homes, you know?
How do you think about not leaving?
I don't know, is there
any difference? I don't know.
Or is there not? It's crazy.
Come on. Don't get different
with me like that.
If a tree falls in the woods, and no
one's there, did it make a sound?
- Yeah, it made a sound, hello.
- Yeah.
You know? Is there a God?
Yes, there is a God.
- Really?
- We talk about it, there's a God.
People believe there is a God.
That doesn't mean it actually exists.
It exists as a word. It exists
as a concept, that's enough.
You know? I mean, it doesn't have
to take some sort of material shape,
or form in order to exist.
It exists as an idea.
Come on. No arguments about that.
And is there a difference
between leaving your home
and going someplace else? Yeah.
What is that difference?
I don't know.
- That's the shirt I wore every day.
- Let's see.
It had, like, these special sleeves.
- Yeah.
- It's disgusting.
I know, right? And really worn.
I really thought that was awesome.
Well, you need to think about what
you want to save for your thing.
Maybe you want to save that
and those jeans.
Put on that Puma shirt, what I think
of when I think of Eastern Europe.
- And low jeans.
- Yeah. There you go.
You're back. Coming back in...
in whatever, Mikulov.
- They fit!
- Where were they?
In the closet.
- Ripped pants...
- They're cut so low, huh?
Terrible.
Kind of old. Horrible, huh?
Before you throw anything out,
what has resonance with you?
What is emblematic of you then?
I like to stand out.
Transformation complete.
- Yeah, totally, right?
- Yeah, I know.
This is the same picture
that I used to take a lot.
- Yeah, it is.
- Just with a different boyfriend.
Oh, Jesus. True.
Here, let me show you my penis.
That's horrible. I have so many
nude pictures of guys in this bed.
Yeah, that's true. That's why
I'm so comfortable sleeping in it.
- It really looks like back then.
- That's the power of clothes.
This is my dad's sweater.
I wore that all the time.
This was my favorite sweater.
That was my only sweater I have left.
I thought my dad was bigger, I can't
believe he would fit in the sweater.
The past is not glamorous.
- The past is not glamorous?
- No.
Weird, huh? Weird.
- Past is not what I remembered.
- And what did you remember?
Well, I thought
it was all really pretty cute...
and awesome.
And it's just bunch of junk.
It's a lot of junk.
I don't know what I am.
I think I need couple days to process
what I'm thinking and feeling.
- Should we leave?
- No.
I don't like who I was before.
- Really? Why not?
- Yeah.
I was confused, dumb
and not knowing what I was doing.
I'm glad that we live in New York.
Oh, you know
what's the obvious move here.
What?
It's all my discarded clothes.
- But look at me. Oh, yeah. Wili.
- Yes?
- Should I smile?
- Thank you.
If you would stay here,
you don't have to do anything...
- I'll tell you something...
- Partying.
You know, I had that article rejected
and that's put a lot of stress on me
to do it.
You know, like, I have to redo it
before January 25th.
I've been kind of stressed over it.
I don't know if the struggle is
necessary for personal growth.
You know what I mean?
It doesn't have to be hard.
At least that hard, I mean, maybe.
With an artist, it's like you need to
be poor and suffer for your art.
Picasso didn't suffer and I don't
really think Matisse suffered either.
You know, again,
the suffering is linked
to a particular generation
of artists.
Romantic suffering, romanticism,
you must suffer.
Why must I suffer for something?
Why must I suffer for something
to be good?
I suppose if you would change that
to working hard
and devoting yourself
or dedicating yourself,
I mean, that you probably have to do.
And if that is suffering,
then yes, you have to suffer.
But if you enjoy your work,
then is it really suffering?
And if you don't enjoy your work,
then why are you doing it?
With a lot of Marie's work,
I don't know
that she values the photographs.
I don't know that she values the
photographs, as much as she values...
I'll try. The flakes might fall in.
...the experience of taking
those pictures.
It could work.
I hope
that we will take off tomorrow.
I think the photograph is really
just a trace of what she does.
The real thing is the moment
at which that photograph is taken.
- Are you hungry?
- I don't know. What's going on?
- Look, I made a salad.
- What?
He's not hungry enough.
Look what he's doing.
- The food's on the table.
- I know.
You're not supposed to say anything.
You're a documentarian.
It's nice to be home.
I'll take a picture of you
in a minute.
Can I actually have you together
for a minute?
Beautiful.
One more.
Actually, hold on.
Thank you.
- Are you here just for Fashion Week?
- Yeah.
I think we're gonna do that.
- Can I take a picture of you?
- Yeah.
Since you already have it on?
I'm publishing a book.
It's coming out at the end of March.
Thank you.
I haven't seen her yet. This is Lili.
Richie. Who else do I know?
There are some pretty big
Instagram stars here.
You both are in the book
that I'm publishing.
I'm publishing my first book.
I've been working on it like, crazy.
I have deadline on Monday,
so I'm really crazy.
- How many pages is that?
- 144.
- When does it go to print?
- Next week.
Oh, sorry.
- Wow. I love your outfit!
- Thank you.
All right.
- Anything else?
- No, that's it, please.
Should I say I've been working on
my book as you suggested before? No?
I just told you what to say.
You don't want it on camera
I'm telling you what to say.
Why not? I always discuss everything
with you. It's not a secret.
Hey, Ryan, I've been working on
my book. I wanted to ask if you...
- Would write a little thing for it.
- "Would write..."
It would mean the world to me,
- but I understand if you're busy.
- It would be such an honor.
What to say at the end?
I don't know, some emoji hearts,
or something like that.
You!
Press send.
It's done. Okay, cool.
Okay.
Send the good vibes in the universe.
Let's eat, boss.
- I don't know.
- Thank you!
Thank you. Oh, my God.
Let the girls inside!
Not once did it flash, man.
When we do the edit just like that
is a great pairing.
- It is, yeah.
You know what I mean?
That makes both those pictures
kind of interesting.
Right? If we don't like the picture,
then it's like I don't want to put it
in there as a pairing necessarily.
You see what I mean? This image
bothers me. This image bothers me.
This image I don't particularly love,
and I never have.
- I like this one more. How about you?
- Let me see both of them.
Okay.
- Put that in that pile right there.
- That one?
You got 60 pictures that you want
to be your favorite 60 pictures.
The strongest 60 pictures.
That's what you want.
The strongest 60 pictures.
That's that.
These are all yeses.
- These are our maybes.
- We're almost done with the book.
These are still on the running.
And these are out, out of yes
but still in the running.
These are out of yes, out of maybe...
- Lazy little thing.
- Tired.
All right, let's go, guys.
- Wait a minute. Is somebody coming?
- Yes.
Yeah, my friend is coming over
to have sex with somebody.
Thomas is making him
a really big favor, really big favor.
That we are lending him our apartment
to have sex right now.
It's crazy.
- I got message from Ryan.
- Oh, really?
Oh, holy shit. It's long.
"Marie has great energy
with big wide eyes.
I like Marie because she has a warm
heart and an enthusiastic spirit.
Sometimes that's one
of the most important characteristics
in being a successful photographer.
Her subjects want to pose for her
because they love her.
Being Czech
is kind of her superpower.
Her subjects are more open to being
photographed
by someone from another country,
who may not be a representative
of anyone
they might have ever known or met.
In Marie's world,
people can just simply be.
I wish all of America's youth culture
looked like Marie's photos
of downtown, diverse and inclusive."
What do you think?
What are you thinking?
Why do I have to say
what I am thinking? Huh?
Very nice, yeah, I mean, it's great.
It's fantastic.
Fantastic.
You should be really happy.
- Can you imagine...
- Well, text him and tell him.
"Oh, my God. That's so sweet..."
Can you imagine that the guy
I admired the most that...
Right after Thomas...
Sorry.
Ryan is gay. It's fine.
The guy who I admire the most,
after Thomas,
wrote such a long thing on me
which means he thought about me.
Oh, my God. That's so sweet.
It didn't happen to me at school,
really, with my other professors
at school, I guess, yeah,
but this is another kind of help
that just... I don't know.
It's very precious.
You know how beautiful a world
we would have?
It would be amazing if people
would want to help each other.
- We have 66 images in the book.
- Yeah.
Kate and Odie have a picture
in the last photo in the layout.
I thought that looked kind of silly.
They also have the same photo right
after that 'cause it's on the cover.
What did you think about that?
Did it bother you?
Well, I mean, we could just take
the Kate and Odie out of the book.
Or maybe
if it's not on the very back.
Thomas, can you get the toilet paper?
No.
I thought you were supposed
to steal some from work.
Fuck, I forgot the milk.
What am I gonna do with this?
You see that?
How's that for, that? What about it?
That's messed up. It's messed up.
That'll make Thomas cuss.
He said it three times,
"Make sure it's well wrapped."
What do you think?
I think that these boxes
need to be a lot more sturdy.
Like, these are just not proper boxes
for 50 pounds of books.
No Bubble Wrap, there is not a hint
of fucking Bubble Wrap in here.
You know what there is?
Who packed this?
- What's in there?
- Piece of paper.
So, let's see here.
David won't sell a book like that.
- You think? Let me see.
- No. Definitely not.
- Yeah.
- You know.
Like, that's... It's the corners
of the books that are delicate.
There is damage. That again
is damaged right there. Look.
- Here too.
- And here too, probably.
No one's gonna buy a damaged book.
We can't have damaged books.
Like, you know.
I mean, that's just a fact.
That looks good, except the damaged
corner which shows here.
Yeah, beautiful.
I mean, it's absolutely beautiful.
It's really, really nice.
We'll send copy to your mom
and my mom.
- What is that?
- I don't know.
It's like damage
on the inside of the front cover.
And it's there too.
I mean, it's like something
was set on top of the paper.
This is probably gonna be there
everywhere.
No.
Yay, I have a book.
Look, I think the book looks great.
I mean, I think it looks great,
it looks fantastic.
You know, the book itself
looks fantastic. It looks great.
It looks beautiful.
Well, those things
aren't centered on there.
This has been our biggest project
from, like, the last six months.
- Seven.
- Yeah.
Well, I don't have the time
or the resources to fly to Czech,
oversee the printing to make sure
this will not happen again,
be there for the binding and bring
the book before the book launch.
That's what it is.
Let me ask you.
I mean, how do you feel about that?
- You want to reprint the whole book?
- How do you feel about that?
I mean, what is your feeling on it?
Like, how do you feel about it?
There is one of our major spreads,
and, you know, it's one of three
that does that.
I mean, am I being too direct?
Like, the fact that matter is that
we put a lot of time and effort
into trying to get a product here.
I mean, it's kind of like I buy a car
and there's a fucking cut
in the seat or a dent in a bumper.
I mean, it's like,
I'm disappointed with that.
What can I say? Like...
Look at that.
Damage on the paper.
Dude, like a cut. That's a cut!
Get them to reprint the fucking book
on a different paper
and ship it to us immediately.
- You know, I mean, right?
- I don't think I can manage that.
I hope people will still like it.
If only it could be straightened out.
Eighteen good ones,
which means we don't have
enough books for the book launch.
So all the books that are printed
on this paper have this flaw?
So let's recap.
Since it's impossible
to print the books
without defects until the 27th,
I'm going to try to arrange for FedEx
to pick up four boxes
so that I have, say, 80 or 75 books
in New York before the 27th.
Thank God we didn't make 1,000 books.
- Keep going.
- I need a break.
Or maybe if we would live in a place
with an elevator.
God, we're even running out of space.
Yeah, we don't have a place
to put them. Grab the couch.
This looks good. Yeah,
they did much better job packing it.
Thank you so much for coming.
- It's super cute and huge!
- It's not for me. Please pass it on.
- Steven, do you spell it like this?
- I do, yeah.
Okay. My spelling is not that good.
I'm just sitting here like a juror.
Hey! Oh, my God.
Thank you for coming.
Congratulations,
I brought you these pretty flowers.
That's so sweet.
- One is for Evelina.
- Okay.
She is a photographer from Cuba.
She sent me here.
- She loves what you do.
- That's so amazing!
- What's your name?
- Camilla.
- Camilla. Marie.
- So nice to finally meet you.
You're such an inspiration. I've been
looking forward to this for so long.
I'm so excited to see you,
I'll sign it for you in a second.
Hi! Oh, my God, yeah, hi!
Yeah. So, you made a book too.
That's amazing.
Oh, this is so sweet.
This is so sweet.
- But this is not your book.
- It doesn't matter.
Where did you print it?
They did a great job.
Thank you. It means very much.
And I love your paper too.
You know, you get ten kids in a room,
and you see
who's gonna be a better runner.
It's the one who can run the fastest
at that time. Is that true or not?
Or is it the kid who, for example,
might, like, have something else.
Have a certain tenacity.
Britney Spears
once said something like...
"How did you make it?
"I just didn't give up
when everybody else did."
And maybe that's the talent.
It's not giving up.
So I'm writing down with Balenciaga,
we cannot mix with other brands.
The eventual color correction
will be done
at your offices with your people,
right?
We would not have to pay for that?
$10,000.
That's a little budget?
She said there is no budget.
$10,000, which needs to cover my fee
and all the production costs
from buying film
and film processing.
- Good.
- There's actually some money for me.
There is a binder clip.
- Is it Balenciaga bag?
- Yeah, that's Balenciaga.
- What is this?
- Try it on.
Okay,
now, put the Gucci shoes on then.
Yeah, that's good, right? Unless
she's too big for, but we can try.
- Is she too big? How big is she?
- I don't know. I saw her only once!
- Is that down here?
- Yeah, it kind of looks cool though.
You're in Gucci and a little Dolce.
Next time Marie is doing anything,
I am going to leave on vacation
a week before and not come back.
Is it even flashing?
I think it's important
to get things done.
I think the camera is too hot.
As right as you can.
But as right as you can
is probably never really perfect.
You always fall short of that.
There's time and money constrictions.
There's some other constriction.
Could be emotional, too. Who knows?
- I'll text you soon. Bye.
- Thank you. Thank you, guys.
- I'm so done. So old.
- Dude, dude, it's 90 degrees out.
Twelve rolls I shot. That's a lot.
So, if we keep up this speed,
it's gonna be at least $2,000
in developing the film.
- We don't have to make that now.
- I'm just playing.
While I got the energy,
we're gonna do edits every night.
I don't have the energy,
so I'm just gonna, like, look.
And I'm not gonna really say...
So good.
I like that one a lot.
Doesn't show a lot of the fashion.
- Who cares?
- They care.
I know, but it shows enough.
No, it doesn't.
It doesn't say Gucci on it.
I think it's a great shot.
We should have it in the selection.
Dude, I'm not saying that. All I'm
saying is what it is. That's all.
Oh, that's nice. Right?
Looks like Ryan's picture.
I love this. This is everything, wow.
It's almost like a sun drop.
Do you know what I mean?
It's like one of those little drops
where it's rainbows radiating out.
- It's like he's falling into sky.
- That's a sun drop. This is it.
- He looks like he's crucified.
- Yeah.
Thank you for help. I would never do
without you Thomas. This is crazy.
- Yeah.
- So, we have ten more shoots to go.
You have time, right? What else you
would be doing, your own career?
Done. Another roll is done.
I'm tired.
You think it's gonna be different in,
you know, two weeks?
And it's another $100
to shoot at least just in car fare.
I took the train.
I would have gotten her
in this other tuxedo in this here.
And let her go with it.
I would have got her out of that
dress as soon as it didn't look good.
And you've got to see it, like...
Odie doesn't look good
and that's out of focus, isn't it?
It's just... We're looking for,
like, really strong pictures.
Sometimes, you can look
at two different pictures,
and they're fairly similar, and one
is clearly better than the other.
And sometimes you can look
at two pictures,
and it's not always clear
whether one is better than the other.
It's a beautiful photo though.
- Gorgeous.
- Let me see.
Sometimes you can say to yourself,
well, does it really matter?
Is one really better than the other?
Does it really matter?
I guess with painting
that's not what happens.
A lot of it has to do with context,
you know?
You put a photograph
in a fashion magazine,
it's a fashion photograph.
You put a photograph at MoMA
and it's not. Right?
That's really probably it.
It's what you say it is. Right?
I think that's the difficult thing,
you know, particularly
as a young photographer like Marie,
is to negotiate
those two spaces, really.
And the trick with building a career
is the negotiation
of those two spaces.
Tomanov photographs her subjects
coming and going out
as they would like to be dressed
if they could afford
the highest-end fashions
mixed in with their own clothes.
For me it is like looking at
a movie version of a lost memory.
New York
is where you want to make it.
You make it in New York,
you'll make it anywhere.
Are we in this paper?
We're in New York Times .
Not just a newspaper. Huh?
Well, dreams come true.
Hungry with enough hard work.
There are some top people
from Calvin Klein.
- They want to shoot with me.
- Good.
Calvin Klein, baby.
They'll be so good.
Congratulations,
I saw The New York Times .
I know!
I'm just now shooting for them.
Wow, it's huge!
I think that this is a better size.
It's very nice to work with you.
- It's the most fun to work with you.
- We do a nice job.
My gold medals.
I got them as a reward for myself,
as my gold medals
for my first two really big jobs
that I got for Instagram.
- How long before we clash?
- I don't know. I don't know.
A lot of skills
go into being an artist today
that aren't just about making the art
or having talent.
You need to be a business person
and a marketer.
You need to be
a public relations firm. All of this.
It's a very tough career. A lot of
creative careers are very tough
because there's not a clear path
to success monetarily.
- I'm nervous, Thomas.
- I know you are, baby.
- You've done this before, you know?
- No, it's not true.
I've done lots of self-portraiture
of myself with myself only.
No other ten people watching me.
I've never done a self-portraiture
story of, like, 20 images
that you need to nail
or 15, 20 in one day.
You know what?
When we were on the roof...
- The lampoon I shot in three days.
- When we were on the roof, right?
You did a really good job
with yourself.
You're used to self-portraiture.
Don't think of it as anything else.
Like, you know,
you really do know what to do.
Don't let all this block you.
And if you need to talk to me,
we can always step away.
So, I know New York New York .
What's the one in the middle?
It was so the very first one
is called Young American ,
the one you don't know about.
It was my first book.
Ryan McGinley wrote the introduction
for it,
and it was a big hit,
and it sold out really fast.
Now it's a collectible,
'cause it was a limited edition.
- That's awesome.
- It is pretty good.
I was selling it for 40 bucks,
and I was on eBay for, like, 350.
- That's cool.
- Wish I would have kept more copies.
- So, I like how we are set up now.
- Yes.
You know why artists
do self-portraits?
How's that, Marie?
Why this interest in self?
That's great. I like that.
That's shooting a little bit lower.
- We should get going.
- Yeah.
The self-portrait is really turning
the apparatus on oneself
versus turning it around
and facing the world.
Do you want to load two Contaxes
or one?
- Just one.
- Okay.
The essence of the self-portrait
is this idea of interiority.
And it's also why it's so powerful
because you have this artist
who is already an interesting
character in the world.
I was recently on a shoot
and felt like I...
I thought I lost my wedding ring.
- Oh, my God.
- I found it.
- This is nice.
- We will do that for sure.
And so maybe what an artist
is hoping to do
with self-portraiture
is to see themselves.
Of course,
that's why we're interested,
because we really want to see
what they are.
How do you portray a person?
Portraits about status and power.
Self-portraiture is...
God, it's a real different animal,
isn't it?
Okay, you got the moves. So good.
I'm still the same.
Completely different,
but still the same.
Sometimes on the street,
the wind blows in my hair.
You can feel that it's moving.
Always, wow.
Hair.
I can feel it.
I can feel it completely.
Wait a minute. I'll shave it again
and it'll be nothing.
My foot is...
I've got a sprained ankle.
I shouldn't be standing.
- Lay down.
- I've got to somehow supervise this.
- I got it. I know how to do it now.
- Really?
It's a beautiful view. It's nice to
have so much light and see the sky.
They're building another building.
I hope it won't block
our view over here too much.
No, you should do this.
Like, have it like, like...
- No! Let me see.
- Later.
- No, I want to see that.
- Later. Would you stop?
Everything you're doing
is on film right now.
You know what's really important,
I think, in a relationship
is being able to get along
with somebody.
- Easygoingness. Is that a word?
- And humor.
- Is that a word? Easy-going-ness.
- I don't know.
I think easy to get along with.
Hi, Amadou. It's Professor Beachdel.
How are you?
Remember we talked about linear
perspective in the renaissance?
And how many pictures
do you think you will be using?
Do you have a rough idea?
I am leaving today actually,
in half an hour.
When I get back,
I can start shooting right away.
Hi, Yassin. How are you? Good.
You want to talk about your paper?
What do you think?
How do you think you did?
You think you did good?
Well, I think you did.
I think there's a few things you can
do to make it a little bit better.
I left the Czech Republic thinking
I would never be an artist,
and I didn't have what it takes
and I left as an au pair.
I worked for families,
babysitting, cleaning out
their dishwashers, wiping toilets.
The hardest thing is for a person
to realize in their own mind
that they can do what they want to do
and that there is no need
to have their own limits.
Yeah, I already have the book.
Signed and I have a picture with her.
- So, can I do it in English?
- English is fine.
- Super. Veronica?
- Veronica.
That's more people than New York.
That's crazy.
Is this book of photographs
a follow-up to Young American?
Even though they're still portraits
of young people,
the book is different
in a fundamental way.
Young American was about
being close to those people,
somehow being part of them.
And what's very apparent to me about
the new book, New York New York ,
is that I've been... Actually, I felt
like I could stand further away.
I was comfortable with the fact
that I already belonged in New York,
because I've had the opportunity
to go to the Czech Republic before.
And by being able to go back home,
I lifted so much of the burden
of wanting to belong in America.
But suddenly it all kind of fell away
and I feel like I belong there.
I'm still at the beginning
and there's still so much to do
and I'm really looking forward to it.
- Hello.
- We have the very last book, I think.
That's cool.
That's so cool. I can't believe it.
Hi, all! We...
Czech, sorry. We don't have books.
It's all been bought.
You're amazing. Thank you so much.
Three, two, one now, maybe!
Crazy face.
Crazy face and Thomas smiles.
Look at that. Oh, my God.
Oh, my gosh. Better.
It's pretty thick and it's wet.
- Why is it wet?
- That's developer.
We're a good match.
- You think?
- Yeah.
Mom. Thank you!
What is home? Is it where you were
born? Where you lived the most?
Is it where your parents are?
So many butterflies here!
Is it your ancestral home,
for lack of a better word?
What does home mean?
There's a very, like, you know,
strong connection
to where you are from. Right?
Which is probably very human.
And the other one.
But also sometimes maybe
there's a reason why you left.
It's from when my dad died.
- Mommy.
- Yes.
- Mommy.
- Yes.
The way he has the feather.
Can you hear the bees?
For Marie, I think it's...
She loves home.
She wants to be home.
But it's also difficult.
Pretty, huh?
- What's that other thing in front?
- Power plant.
A little imperfection
makes it more real.
Truly pretty.
That's how I imagine it always looks
that ideal sunset in LA.
- Oh, yeah?
- Over the ocean.
I've never seen the sunset
by the ocean in LA.
- Can we do it sometimes?
- Maybe.
Look, it's almost over.
Wow, it goes fast.