London Dailies

Welcome Montes to London Town!

William Montes-Liendo — who prefers simply Montes — touched down in London early this morning. Safe, exhilarated, and already filming. Within hours of arrival he began sending the first dailies: quick, spontaneous impressions of the city as he made his way toward what may be the smallest shared room ever conceived for human habitation — a micro-mini-tiny-infinitesimal capsule populated by fellow nomads from every corner of the planet.

I couldn’t be happier. I seem to have found the perfect replacement for my former life of penitential globetrotting. He roams; I remain here, in Charlottesville, watching snow settle gently over Oakhurst Circle. Montes sends dailies, I edit. It couldn’t get any better — or any more elegant.

London Dailies

These first camera tests mark the opening notes of what will become the trailer for Sonata Mulattica, a film in collaboration with poet Rita Dove. They are fresh, unfiltered, and full of promise.

And this post will be updated frequently — hopefully daily over the next ten days — as new footage arrives from the field. Think of it as a running, living notebook from London, an unfolding glimpse into the early visual language of the film.

So, without further ado, here are the first dailies from Montes, on the ground in London, already at work.

First of many shots to come