The National Museum of Art of Romania, Bucharest
‘There are three galleries: modern, European – and medieval, my favourite. A lot of Eastern European and Russian icons are housed here, and while I’m not religious, I liked these – they’re so different from anything I’d ever seen before. I was in town to make the movie Seacole. I immerse myself in the places where I’m filming. It’s an interesting dynamic: you’re not quite a tourist, and surrounding yourself with locals, you probably get your foot further in the door than most.’
Barzura, Sydney
‘My wife is Australian, so we go to Sydney quite often with our five children. I feel sorry for the other people on the plane. When we turn up, you can see them thinking, “Ahh, what charming children,” then their faces change to “Fuck, no – five kids?!” There are so many fantastic breakfast spots here: The Boathouse on Balmoral Beach, the Coogee Pavilion… but this is the one I always return to. I’ll go for a run first, then eat with the family and stop by Iggy’s Bread bakery up the road on the way home to pick up the best sourdough.’
La Bomba De Tiempo at Ciudad Cultural Konex, Buenos Aires
‘There’s music everywhere in this city, and little theatres dotted all over. This percussion ensemble is improvised, with various artists joining in. You stand in a kind of mosh pit in a huge quadrangle around a stage with 14 drummers and a conductor. There’s a mix of ages and you can just dance yourself into a frenzy. I love being abstracted from everything I know. That feeling of being rootless feeds my creativity.’
Venezia FC Stadium, Venice
‘You have to go to a football match in Venice. The away fans come on boats and gondolas, chanting, to the 7,000-seat venue. It’s fun, and the football is good – second-tier Italian games are still really good. I was here in August and September last year, which meant it was busy, but most of our shoots were at night, so we got to work in beautiful palaces and then walk home at 5am with nobody around. Once, very late, we took a boat taxi, speeding through all the canals.’
