Let’s get this party started. I’ve been talking about and planning to make a documentary on the women who shaped the natural wine movement for a few months now and finally, day one of shooting is here. There has been a recent spate of articles on women who were part of other movements, like punk, but never got much credit in their day. Yesterday I went to a screening of Obsessed with Light, a documentary still in production about Loie Fuller, a dancer, and choreographer who pioneered theatrical lighting techniques. But of course very few people, myself included, know much about her work. A few weeks ago I saw Be Natural,the story of Alice Guy-Blanche, who was one of the first filmmakers, ever. Not only did I not know who she was but, as the film shows, neither did numerous famous filmmakers. Point being, we gotta do this…no one should be erased from history because of gender.

I spent a good part of Sunday at B&H getting the rest of the equipment for the shoot and now, with more cords, gadgets, and batteries than I know what to do with, really, I don’t, I’m awaiting Julian’s arrival from JFK so that we can figure this shit out. I’ve been up since six, prepping for the shoot and reading The Times, one last time before taking a self-imposed news blackout for a week. Let’s see how that goes.

— — — -

The self-imposed news blackout lasted about seven hours. I spent the better part of the five-hour drive to Vermont listening to NPR since I couldn’t get the Bluetooth to play Spotify. We had a hankering for A Tribe Called Quest, but alas, had to settle for Lakshmi Singh. Hearing Mitch McConnell say that he didn’t think Trump was a racist nearly made laugh. Sure, if you don’t take Mitch’s word for it just ask the Grand Poo-Bah of the KKK. These people so suck.

(Clement Lapeyssonnie, Jenny Lefcourt, PSB)

We shot Jenny Lefcourt earlier at L’Accolade, a new natural wine bar on Bleecker. It’s affiliated with a wine bar in Marseille. There is a bit of a hippie French flair, in a good way…no pretense and the guys who run it are very nice. I actually went and checked it out last night, with a friend and my dad’s wife, and it got three thumbs up. Any place that carries Sébastien Riffault is alright with me.

I’ve talked to most of the women who I’m filming before but hearing the journeys never gets old. Since it’s been a while since Jenny and I sat down, probably about two years, it was great to hear how much Jenny & François is expanding. She’s done extraordinary work, and there is still more to capture beyond the hour or so that we talked today. I’m going to look at the footage after I call Cami and hear about all I’m missing at home. The only thing I got when she called me while I was on the road was that Seamus is being a dick. I do miss him.