CULTURE
EVA IN LA LA LAND WITH PHOTOGRAPHER AND ARTIST DANIELLA MIDENGE
Presenting our ongoing photo and interview series where Czech filmmaker Eva Doležalová speaks to some of the most creative and inspiring names in film and fashion.
Eva Doležalová is a hot name in LA right now. The young filmmaker who shot to fame at the age of 10, with her recurring roles in Czech films and theatrical productions, has since been on an upward trajectory. After working with well-known directors such as Mike Figgis and Shane Black, she discovered a passion for screenwriting and directing films. Eva directed several short films with her first one in 2016, Sound of Sun, released by NOWNESS, that she starred in alongside Suki Waterhouse and Sean Penn. Her new film, Carte Blanche won the Audience Award in Mammoth Film Festival in February 2019 and Eva is on a journey to direct her first feature film.
For the latest Eva in La La Land Column, Doležalová talked to fellow photographer and artist, Daniella Midenge. Doležalová describes Midenge an artist, a loyal friend, a beautiful, sexy, fierce woman with persuading eyes, killer style and of course a brilliant photographer who shows women as strong and intelligent and with much-appreciated sensuality. She even went as far as to call her the female Peter Lindbergh.
The two visually talented stars sat down with each other for a one-on-one discussion about her new book Sex & Cigarettes, the art of photography, and their love of visual mediums.
Eva D: I’ve been in Daniella’s creative bubble on several occasions. I’ve been in front of her camera rolling on the floor with nothing but a cigarette behind my ear and a fur, and she’s been in front of mine wearing nothing but a fur. We went dancing in East Berlin in a questionable bar wearing “Eyes Wide Shut” inspired masks until the sun came up and continued our day making art until the sun went down. We’ve been friends since our Cape Town encounter many years ago and we have reunited in Los Angeles. I was living in London and Paris for years while Daniella dedicated nearly half of her life to East Berlin. Now, in Los Angeles, we find ourselves enjoying the Tony Duquette's house shooting, sharing cigarettes, sipping red wine and talking, talking, talking…
Daniella: I think why we became instantly so close is that we both understand the sacrifices of creating interesting content on the chosen day. Like if the rain is pouring I yell “Hell yeah! Finally, something fun to play with! The wet look.” Or when you filmed Suki and Jordan Barrett and Suki slits her hand opens in a fan in The Bowery Hotel and you keep rolling with the pouring blood..
Yeah. I even got some great sneaky footage in the emergency room while she was getting stitches. (laughter)
What were the words you sent me when I asked you for news from Paris?
Let me see on What’s App.
-Birds
-Sensuality
-Familiarity
-Comfort
-Delight
-Head in the stable clouds
And what would be the quote today?
Loving life as it presents itself. You?
Tony Duquette's house is Kick-Ass.
NOVEMBER 20, 2019
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WEB EDIT
KRISTOPHER FRASER
INTERVIEW & PHOTOGRAPHY
by EVA DOLEŽALOVÁ
It reminds me a bit of your world - whimsical and fun with a touch of gold. I could see you throw a party here. You once said, “Everything inspires me. A glass of water looks like a gin&tonic to me.” I remember liking this quote because it’s very you with that magic way of looking at life. Tell me what Sex & Cigarettes, your photo book, represents to you?
When I started photography, I was really only doing what came from my heart. It was and still is, all about taking photos that feel more like true timeless photography — less like fashion photography in the sense that you are trying to sell a product. Almost all the shoots in my book happened very spontaneously. We just went outside, crawled into a little spot and things unfolded and took shape without a specific plan of execution. So it represents spontaneity.
What I’ve always loved about you is that you’re not scared to experiment. That being said I mean in your life and in your artistic expression. When you first grabbed a camera, you were a hair&make up artist, but you went with your pure intuition and started playing with it. We have both learned the technical aspects of our jobs later on.
Exactly! I have said yes to things so many times that I have no idea how to do and then figured it out along the way. I definitely have a guardian angel guarding me during my creative highlights. I’m not a technical person at all. It’s about your vision and knowing what to add and what to take away to make an intriguing image. That being said I would love to go much more experimental now and certainly feel ready to create pure artistic imagery that stands alone beside the commercial ones.
