by Henrietta Weekes

One thing that Meryl Streep, Francis Ford Coppola, Nicole Kidman, Mick Jagger, Alan Pakula and many other celebrities have in common is that they've all worked with Oscar-nominated cinematographer and San Miguel resident Stephen Goldblatt.

I went to visit this fellow Brit, born in South Africa, who worked for 50 years in the heart of Hollywood, earning himself a Lifetime Achievement Award for his craft.

There in his splendid, but unassuming home I found a soft-spoken gentleman, with guts and grit, and salty humor to boot. Having worked with some of the fiercest visionaries, and egos, in cinema, he has many a tale to tell, many revolving around his passion for comradeship, which became the the leitmotif of our conversation.

I was delighted to learn that at sixteen he was arrested alongside Bertrand Russell at a march for nuclear disarmament in London. A photo he shot later of the great philosopher now hangs on his home studio wall, next to another of Jayne Mansfield taken shortly before her tragic death.

After graduating from the Royal College of Art in London, Stephen catapulted into a manic working schedule as a still photographer shooting the stars of the swingin' sixties. "I shot The Beatles for Life Magazine, which became the four photos that were inserted in the White Album. Those were wild times."

Then Stephen began his transition from still photography to movies, eventually becoming an acclaimed cinematographer, in charge of the camera and light crews on set.

"Then I started doing special photography for movies at [UK studios] Pinewood and Shepperton. Moving pictures were even more exciting. But it was when I was working on the set of director Karel Reisz, seeing Vanessa Redgrave in action, that I knew I didn't want the life of a solo photographer. It was the comradeship that I saw on movie sets that stirred my blood."

Living in the Bay Area, Stephen and his wife came to visit friends in San Miguel eight years ago. Two days into their stay they hired a realtor to look for a home. "It was all a bit impulsive, but we were sure in our bones. We still are. We've been all over the world, but we felt that here was home."

"I still work, and adore it, but now only when I'm truly excited and interested, when I want to. I get to be quieter, swim, do pilates, walk our new rescue dog, enjoy the diversity of friends and culture. If I'm not doing that, I'm in the studio, working on photography."

"I'm never without my Leica camera, and this city is just pulsing with narrative. In the pandemic, I wandered the deserted streets and just snapped. I have a penchant for night strolls too; there's all sorts of hidden magic here".

It's hard to imagine the stamina and skill that he needed to shoot the Lethal Weapon movies or the HBO series, Angels in America. It's even harder to imagine the kinds of stories he must have, brushing shoulders with the giants of the silver screen. But the framed hand-written note from Mike Nichols, which hangs amidst a jaw-dropping photography collection in his living room, hinted pretty well at those.

Since the Redgrave epiphany, his illustrious career has taken him to the wildest corners of the world, and the feistiest film sets: "Coppola's The Cotton Club was like a mafia scene; dangerous, exciting, hard work, hyper-collaborative. It made it thrilling to be an artist. I have stories from working with Kubrick on Barry Lyndon or Tony Scott on The Hunger that I just can't tell in public. The theatricality of it all is what I thrive on. I've just finished shooting a wonderful gay-centered film, RWRB, in England, written by the brilliant Tony Award-winning Matthew Lopez. I guess I'm a bit unstoppable, but why stop when I don't have to?

The man who shot Angels in America, Lethal Weapon, The Cotton Club, Batman Forever and Closer is, naturally, a serious master of composition and light. “I have this living, breathing relationship with my camera, I suppose a bit like directors have with actors. It feels like the right time to show some of my collection of stills from over the years. "I have this living, breathing relationship with my camera, I suppose a bit like directors have with actors, and Mexico is my new passion.”

I asked him if there was something that he liked best about the business: "I've mentored budding directors at Sundance Directors Lab for years. They have to make the first scenes of the movie that got them accepted into the festival. It's exhilarating and grueling for them. That's what it's all about in the movies, and that's what it's all about for me; sharing not only my experience but the mutual love and learning of the craft".

Reluctantly heading to the front door and our goodbye, we enjoyed a moment of dry humor, customary for Brits, and in the same breath, extolled the virtues of Mexico: "All my friends keep asking us, how do they get out of the US, and how did Debra and I know this was the right move? Honestly, we didn't. We just took that leap based on our intuition."

Stephen Goldblatt has lived his life taking leaps based on his intuition. Here in San Miguel, we're lucky to have the chance to revel in the photo exhibition of a master of moving images and stills.

Tea Sommelier Ann Stratton serves infusions and tisanans at the Bar de Té.

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Henrietta Weekes is a writer, actor and voice artist. She has produced multiple events and web series. She lives between San Miguel, New York City and England. .

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