A few summers ago, I had the honor of being the still photographer on set for the Paris production of the independent and visionary film “Aviva.”
Directed by Boaz Yakin (“Fresh,” “Remember the Titans,”), the film, with choreography from co-star Bobbi Jene Smith, is in distribution with Outsider Pictures, will be on Video on Demand in November in the U.S. and Canada.
It’s always tricky being the still photographer on set, as you have to be invisible and always present looking for where the actors and the cameras are, while also looking for evocative stills and sometimes some great behind-the-scenes shots. Then there was the 4am call time at Sacre Coeur! A bit difficult but worth it for that early morning light. Plus I got a credit, and yes now I’m on IMDB! Yay!
A trailer is here and linked to the screenshot, at the end of the gallery below.
“Aviva” is a uniquely sexy dancing in the streets, sheets and bars impressionistic take on a movie romance, set in a New York world of gender-fluid and frequently fully unclothed bodies. The character of Aviva, played by both Zina Zinchenko (and at times by Or Schraiber), is a young Parisian who develops an online romance with Eden, played by Tyler Phillips (and at times Bobbie Jene Smith), a New Yorker. Incorporating exuberant dance sequences, and featuring a pair of principal characters played by four different actors daringly expressing both masculine and feminine sides, “Aviva” captures a restless and changing today where who we are as women and men, and how we navigate the world, is up for grabs.
