JEAN PHILIP DE TENDER

I was in Amsterdam for the News Xchange. I just came from the opening reception at the Rijksmuseum and had to rush to restaurant De Kas to discuss a project on investigative journalism. It was softly raining and I jumped in a taxi, my head full of of the great paintings and what I would have to say at dinner. The taxi stopped at the red traffic lights and this is what I saw.  I quickly eternalized it in this picture and off we went.

It is true that people no longer watch the real world, but stare at it through their smartphones. But sometimes these snapshots give you a change to better understand the world. They really frame it.

“Un beau soleil interieur” is Claire Denis’ newest film, starring Juliette Binoche. Happiness shines from the billboard and sends its warmth to this homeless person on the bench. Her smile is fiction, his is real.