Strange shift of time zones. Last week was still rushing to get business finished in London with several projects in development (one of them a zombie psych horror, script was given to me a while back) with sunny weather for nearly two weeks straight. Then off to Amsterdam, on and off rainy with sunshine, blazing on the bike to more missions.

Then Wed off to Suriname, on the tip of South America, where it’s been pissing down with rain for weeks now. Streets are occasionally flooded, disrupting social and economic life. I’m here to shoot several corporate films on health and safety, security and more in the logistic branch, so if the weather doesn’t clear up it’ll screw up our schedule.

Always interesting to be back, although the last few years home is where my suitcase gets opened up. I don’t even bother to take out my gear, unless it’s food and herbs. Life on the move teaches you a lot of things: Don’t get attached to anything, anywhere, anytime. But at the same time you learn to appreciate everything, everywhere, any moment. Nothing is to be taken for granted and money, equipment, resources all are tools, never the goal.

I would highly recommend to read this book: Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World. A fascinating journey written by Jack Weatherford. Concise, riveting, comprehensive and a great insight into what globalisation actually means and how it came about. I’ve always been fascinated by Genghis Khan, because he was never the typical conqueror out to gain more territory for the sake of it or to bring havoc and destruction (as most of the modern misconceptions surrounding him are still accepted now). The mobility, the efficiency and the fact that he founded a firm law and a strict code, creating the concept of ambassadors and diplomatic immunity, abolishing torture, raising women and merchants to higher classes, complete religious freedom and open discussions, all of this points out to an incredibly progressive mind with a vision to truly unite different civilisations, while keeping their cultural integrity. He’s supposedly also the first ruler who also had to adhere to the law and would not be above it as with many monarchs of the time.

It’s also interesting to see how he stuck close to his humble origins, a very pragmatic man still living close to his horse and ready to move, while his later descendants got more decadent and lived in grand palaces, thus initiating the slow but steady decline of the Mongol Empire.

In terms of military strategy and organization, the principles used can be easily applied to the guerrilla film making life style I have jumped in, both to great joy and great frustration at times. But a man’s got to follow the path of his heart. And as much as I’m trying to shake off the film business or get side tracked by other endeavours with more monetary success, cinema (and literature, art in general) still keeps stealing my heart back every time.

Anyway, check out the book, far more interesting than my sporadic mumblings on this blog.

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