December belongs to the twins of pain
At the end of 1975 and beginning of 1976 Jac was in Bolivia, visiting from NY. At that time he was a film student in the Big Apple, he also worked in many odd jobs including one doing maintenance for a building in
Van Wyck EPwy, Queens.
One day, while working in the apartment building, a man came to the place and asked Jac if he wanted to join the union of maintenance workers. He said, ok, why not? One week later, while changing a bulb in a narrow back entrance, he had a very strange accident, he was up in a ladder, his boss was holding it because it was not very secure, and as Jac stepped down, the guy let the ladder go, needless to say Jac broke his leg. The owner of the building was none other than Donald T. yes. That D. T.
Jac in Central Park, NY, 1975.
So, after spending 6 months with his leg in a cast, Jac was not ready to work, he had some time in his hands, and after recouping further from his really terrible accident, multiple fractures, and since he was receiving some compensation, off to Bolivia he went, planning to stay a month, ended up staying 6.
He was preparing to return to NY when he went visiting some relatives, one of them was his grand father’s second wife, Hilda, a well known poet. She invited him to visit her family, who lived in the famous house of another famous poet. Jac’s family is full of poets, painters, musicians, really. He took pictures of his step grandma and her relatives, all of them extremely well known. One of those pictures won awards for Jac during his student days. He also took some pictures of his travels and of himself in strange situations.
Jac’s self portrait at the San Francisco Church in 1976.
Later on, in 2013 he shot scenes for Dead But Dreaming in this church.
During the visit to his grandfather’s relatives, Jac saw a beautiful young woman, Hilda’s niece, Carmen, who he hadn’t seen for a few years. She was two years older than him and he kind of had a crush on her a few years back; seeing her at that moment he could see why.
Carmen mentioned to him that she was in town, visiting from France, where she was now residing, she introduced to him her young, very tall, French husband. Jac could see that she was pregnant… She was pregnant with twins!
Shortly after that meeting Jac was back in NY, back in school, in his own little studio, and no longer holding menial jobs, he got into advertising and photography while finishing his film studies. He also produced a weekly radio show, worked in some films, including
Hair, where he was a production assistant and extra.
By 1981 he was already working in his own films and in 1988 he premiere his first major feature documentary film at the most famous
Cannes Film Festival, where he met Graham Greene, the celebrated writer. Because of that film he worked in Cuba and ended up going to Hungary, where we met. Another long story told in detail in other pasts and future posts.
Jac at the Cannes Film Festival with a journalist
In 1992 we were in NYC, living in a nice duplex by South Street Seaport, he was preparing to shoot another movie and he wanted to make it in Bolivia, so… off to Bolivia we went.
In April of 1992 Jac and I arrived in Bolivia. A month before our arrival, Jac’s beloved aunt Mercedes, also a poet, died of heart disease. A few days after our arrival there was a mass to remember a month of her passing.
Jac and I were in the front row at the Church where the mass was taking place because Jac was direct family. To his side was his dear uncle Guido, the widower, also a poet. In the row behind us there was this very beautiful young woman with the most shinny smile. Next to her was Pancho, who Jac knew well from their time of smoking pot and organizing weird music encounters. He is also Carmen’s brother. Pancho introduced the young pretty smile woman to Jac. Jac learned at that moment that the beautiful girl in front of him was none other that one of the expected twins from 1976. The twins were born on December 6 of that year.
Camille in 1992, before the encounter
After the mass everyone went on their business. Jac and I were preparing some acting workshops to prepare actors for the film Jac was hoping to produce. He also needed a million bucks for that. Long story.
While looking for cash for the big film, Jac decided to give all of his new actors roles in a twin peaky miniseries he was writing in his head about two sisters, one gets killed. A casual encounter in the street with Camille, the beautiful young relative of his, led him to cast her in the central role of his new story. It was 1993.
Camille played the difficult dual role of twins, one who is killed and the other helps in the investigation. Jac decided to make the sisters twins because he had the perfect actress for that. The dead twin appears in flashbacks, while the living twin is a central character along with Jac himself and… me.
Shooting a scene for The Man From The Moon
Camille surprised Jac with her daring and capacity to get into character. She had one extremely difficult scene where she rolls down a cliff. Jac was impressed with her passionate performance and saw the amazing possibilities Camille’s talents and daring were offering him. He was sure he finally found his goddess.
Clip from The Man From The Moon
Soon after completing the miniseries Camille and Jac began her training for a role he envisioned she would be perfect for by trying out scenes for the film he had in mind, one that involved a crucifixion. Camille was willing to do it and so they recorded some sessions that became more and more intense as they worked on them.
Somewhere along the way they became a couple and were living together. in ’95 they went to the US, France and other cities in a sentimental and working tour.
They were back in Bolivia at the end of that year.
At the beginning of 96 Jac was invited to be a film professor at a prestigious university, he was also preparing to shoot a TV series based on his script for the film that never was and that’s when Gabrielle, Camille’s twin sister, moved in with the happy couple. He was now living with the twins, teaching at a university, preparing a TV series, doing a lot of photography and also planning a vampire movie with Camille and Gabrielle in the leading roles.
Camille and Gabrielle, posing in 1996
In 97 Jac was hard at work making a few documentaries, preparing to shoot the TV series and working with Camille on the videos we call
The Via Crucis of Camille. At one point Camille and Jac decided to make one movie with the subject of crucifixion and with a lot of torture and they made
Red Feline On The Cross with a budget of less than 500 dollars.
And then the crisis. The TV station that promised to back the series withdrew their offer because they had too many things going. Jac got pissed. He got together with his basic production team, that included me, and announced that he was leaving Bolivia.
Before the end of 97 off he went to the US to begin something new, something he didn’t know at the time, a new industry,
Red Feline Pictures, something that had Camille, who went with Jac, Gabrielle, who later joined them, and himself as the
sexy triumvirate who would give shape to the brand new and outrageously daring adventure.
BTW, his basic production team is, still, the pillar of Jac’s work, all the original members of that restless team are still hard at work.
The Team in 1996, making a documentary.
The same team later on, in 2005, in the same area, shot a documentary for NatGeo
and met Amy who became a great actress and director.
And that's how it all began, and why December belongs to the twins.
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