waltzing roxana

On Tuesday afternoon I journeyed to Kleinburg studios - the location set north of Toronto where the company had moved for the day. Driving down a very steep driveway through picturesque snowy hills, the orange light of sunset glinted off distant trees. I wondered silently how trucks and cars get up the road in the middle of winter - how easily it must freeze over. But grip trucks are like battle tanks, they are built to get through anything! The parking lot was jammed, proof that nothing gets in the way of making movies!

Inside the studio the Art Gallery sequence was being shot. In this scene, the Pawnbroker introduces Roxana to glamorous society who do not know quite what to make of the vampish newcomer. While the women of the party wear gorgeous but conservative dresses with full skirts, Roxana saunters into the scene in a stunningly more risque evening dress, the skirt hugging her legs and soon showing a revealing slit. Paintings and statues on small tables cling discreetly on or near the walls, creating the right atmosphere but leaving lots of floor space for the dance. The costumes seemed to vibrate the colours in the paintings, as if they were coming to life.

The breath of fresh air and relief for the crew was palpable at being in a studio with almost palatial spaces behind set and vertical reach to the lighting grids above. It seemed to be a welcome break from huddling in breathfrosting basecamps and sets elsewhere. I do like studio, grinned 1st Assistant Director Maria Popoff as she moved through the open spaces. Meanwhile, the start had been complicated by a minor injury sustained by dancer Greta Hodgkinson, who stoically continued. Two cameras were operational: an A camera focussing on the wide angle and a B camera taking a closer view.

The first part of the shot happened in silence, with Roxana and Amy making their entrance with the Pawnbroker. Roxana is introduced by name to various guests and then, as it becomes clear that the men of the gathering are instantly smitten, she is drawn into a waltz in which she partners almost every single man present in a whirlwind of encounters. I was reminded of Roberto and Moze discussing the need for the dances to push through the narrative and how successfully that has happened. Through clever orchestrations of choreography and use of a later steadicam, the dance and the camerawork model the life of Roxana to come: many lovers, many broken hearts. Including, perhaps her own. Meanwhile, Amy walks the perameter of the room, observing Roxana's success with that mixture of nervousness and pride that Sheila McCarthy creates movingly.

At lunch (which came at 5:00 that day), I sat with Maria and 3rd Assistant Director Shauna Janssen. One of them must always be on headset - and turns were taken as they tried to eat. Conversation ran to the schedule for next week, including a very early morning to come at the Liunia train station in Hamilton. Getting the crew there for the 5:15 a.m. unit call was going to be complex. Eventually, Shauna and Maria left to work and Moze himself sat down. Soon he regaled those of us left (including Roberto) with a story about his first experiences with dance and public performance. As an 8 year old, he signed up for a talent show in an English boarding school, determined to do flamenco as he had seen it on tv. Spending all his time on the costume (which was custom fitted and included ruffles) it wasn't til he was waiting in the wings to go on that he realised he didn't have either music or dance steps. He improvised by stamping his feet to the strange melody played on a recorder by a math teacher yanked out of his seat! (Manijeh, Moze's mother, says there are pictures. We want to see them!)

Before the day continued, time was taken for still photographs. A sofa was pulled forward and Greta Hodgkinson as Roxana lay across it to a flurry of flashes and cameras. Besides the still photographer, his assistant, the cinematographer, myself and a behind scenes doc filmmaker were all shooting pictures. The men joined her and the results reminded me of production stills from 1960s movies - a tribute to the designers that the colour tones match so beautifully, both on camera and off.

While waiting for things to resume, I chatted with dancer Emma Lu Rommerein (that's her in the middle, resting). She plays an ensemble dancer in this movie, and was the featured actor and dancer in Moze's last film, From Time to Time. In that incredible way of hyphenates that everyone in the business seems to have, Emma is also a baker, starting up a business making gluten-free breads. Called Miss Emma Lu's, the specialty is a chocolate chip zucchini bread. Everything is in place, she says, she is just seeking a kitchen to work out of. While we were chatting, someone offered a contact. Like everything in this business, it's all about networking!

Back on set, cinematographer Michael Spicer and his teams moved the dolly tracks to get closer angles. One camera would follow just Roxana, the other the Pawnbroker. They changed position of the enormous airstar balloon light that appeared to float along the ceiling and was guided by a rope. Elsewhere above, a grip adjusted a lamp on the grid so that it focussed a little less intensely on a particular painting. So much of filmmaking is this kind of painstaking perfectionism, aimed at making the illusion as real as possible.

Eventually, I left, driving up the steep hill now shrouded in night. Exhausted. I left behind a crew still going strong and expected to shoot til midnight. Wednesday and Thursday, they are at locations on Front Street in Toronto shooting exteriors and interiors related to the drama and not involving dance. When I mentioned it to Roberto before I left, it was his turn to grin: a day off!, he said with unconcealable pleasure.