With So Little To Be Sure Of

Frequently used by motivational speakers, the words "Carpe diem" are usually translated to mean "seize the day." The command is broad enough to encompass any number of actions, from launching an attack on a medieval castle to killing an abusive spouse; from staging a political coup to the moment a lucky understudy is called upon to take over for an artist who is too sick to perform in a stage production.

The call to action inspired by "Carpe diem" is also reflected in songs from 1961's Subways Are For Sleeping (music by Jule Styne with lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green), 1965's Do I Hear A Waltz? (music by Richard Rodgers with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim), and 1961's Stop The World -- I Want To Get Off (music and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley).

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If there is one instance in which an artist must seize the moment with a rare combination of aggressive passivity and passive aggression, it is the mysterious field of wildlife photography. Sometimes a photographer can lie in wait for hours, even days, hoping to capture the special moment that has just the right balance of lighting, action, mystery, and wonder to communicate the beauty and spirit of a wild animal. Because the preparations leading up to such a moment can be long, arduous, expensive, and far from guaranteed, wildlife photography can seem like a frustrating risk or lead to an exhilarating moment of triumph.

Wildlife photographer Amos Nachoum

Directed by Yonatan Nir and Dani Menkin, a riveting documentary about the work of wildlife photographer Amos Nachoum entitled Picture of His Life (that was screened during the 2019 San Francisco Jewish Film Festival) takes on an even greater sense of urgency in light of the Trump administration’s determination to gut the Endangered Species Act of 1973.

Amos Nachoum photographing a great white shark

Amos Nachoum's photo of an orca carrying her dead calf

At 65 years of age, Nachoum (who was the team leader for separate National Geographic photo expeditions to document the Red Sea, great white sharks, and orcas) remains remarkably fit. With more than 35 years experience as a wildlife adventure guide (in addition to 18 years diving in Antarctica), he is the founder of Big Animals Global Expeditions and the co-founder of the Marine National Park on the Red Sea in Israel.

Amos Nachoum's photo of a sailfish

Amos Nachoum's photo of a giant ray

While serving as a commando for an Israeli special forces unit, Nachoum witnessed many gruesome tragedies during the time he spent as a war photographer. After finding solace in nature’s beauty (as opposed to the cruelty of man), his work took him in a new direction. Since 1988, he has won Nikon’s underwater photography contest, the Communication Arts Award, and the BBC’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year Award.

Amos Nachoum's photo of a leopard seal attacking a penguin

Today, Amos spends much of his work trying to draw attention to the plight of endangered species in an effort to aid in their preservation. As part of his attempts to raise public awareness and change public opinions about such apex predators as great white sharks and orcas, he has also become a highly entertaining lecturer, as evidenced in this video of one of his TEDx talks.


Picture of His Life documents Nachoum’s quest to photograph a polar bear from underwater while swimming alongside the creature. On his first visit to the Arctic, he survived a dangerous encounter when a curious bear (which may have felt threatened) chased him down to a depth of 70 feet. In the film, Nachoum is aided by Inuit guides who know the Western Hudson territory in the Canadian high Arctic extremely well and are quite familiar with the habits of Nanook, the endangered apex predator who can weigh as much as half a ton.

Wildlife photographer Amos Nachoum stalking polar bears

A family of Arctic polar bears swim above Amos Nachoum

Nachoum’s dream finally came true on the last day of his Arctic quest when the Inuit guides spotted a female polar bear swimming with her two cubs. Together with cinematographer Adam Ravetch, he entered the water approximately 200 yards away from the bears and waited as the animals swam toward them. When the trio of bears were barely 20 feet away, the two men dove below the surface. Nachoum recalls expecting that he would aim for a silhouette image of the bears as they swam overhead but, "Unexpectedly, one of the young ones broke formation (likely out of curiosity) and dove down to just a few feet from me, looking me in the eyes before returning to the surface.”


Filled with breathtaking footage, Picture Of His Life stresses the importance of being in the right place at the right time with the right skills and the right equipment. Here's the trailer:

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When it comes to seizing the moment, some of the most compelling dramas can be found in tales of palace intrigue in exotic cultures. Two outstanding examples are 2005's The King and the Clown and 2008's Red Cliff.




Even so, I harbor special fondness for two films set in India that were released in 2008. Set during the Mughal Empire, Jodhaa Akbar is a sprawling, nearly four-hour-long epic whose special effects and visual riches are hard to beat. Unless, of course, you pair it with Nina Paley's cheeky spoof of tales from the Ramayana entitled Sita Sings The Blues.




Because they include so much spectacle, historical films and full-length animation features can cram a lot more action and art into 90 minutes than any stage production. Nor does an audience have to struggle to absorb and digest what is happening in front of them. The California Shakespeare Theater recently presented the world premiere of House of Joy, a new tale of palace intrigue by Madhuri Shekar with scenery by Lawrence E. Moten III, costumes by Oana Botez, and lighting designed by Wen-Ling Liao.

Directed by Megan Sandberg-Zakian with sound design and music composition by Arshan Gailus, a cast of seven performers (aided by fight director Dave Maier) entertains the audience with a story that includes everything from abducting children and separating them from their families to sadistic acts of humiliation; from fierce female warriors guarding the royal family to the desperate plight of an unhappy queen; from an all-powerful hijra ruling over the Emperor's harem to a handsome young physician who chose the name "Thermometer" (his friends call him 'Meter") in order to hide the shame of having been born into one of Indian society's lowliest castes.

Nandita Shenoy (Gulal), Lipica Shah (Noorah), and
Rotimi Agbabiaka (Salima) in a scene from House of Joy
(Photo by: Jay Yamada)

In her program note entitled “Culture, Combat & Comaraderie!” dramaturg Vidhu Singh provides valuable insights into the cosmopolitan harems in both medieval and Mughal India as well as the likely origins of the characters in House of Joy.

“While the institution of the harem was inherently oppressive in nature, there are remarkable historical examples where women had power, such as the 15th century harem of Sultan Ghiyas-ud-din Khalji of Malwa (Central India). According to The Jahangirnama, the Sultan maintained an invincible harem of 15,000 women. He changed the name of his capital from Mandu to Shadiabad, or 'City of Joy.' In Tarikh-i-Ferishta (The History of Hindustan), the historian Ferishta notes that women in the Sultan’s harem were taught wrestling and the art of warfare. They included 500 Turkish women who excelled in the art of archery and 500 Abyssinian women armed with swords, shields, and firearms. Dressed in male attire, these women were a formidable force in medieval India. Since the founding of the Mughal Empire by Emperor Babar, the imperial harem was guarded by female warriors. These robust women, who were taken from warlike cultures along the Silk Road -- Greece, Kashmir, Turkey, and Abyssinia (Ethiopia) -- did not historically speak the local language or veil themselves. However, with the expansion of the Mughal Empire, the royal harem became increasingly larger and institutionalized, emerging as a symbol of Mughal power.”

Emma Van Lare is Hamida in House of Joy (Photo by: Jay Yamada)

“European travelers who visited the Mughal court were surprised to discover a vibrant smorgasbord of cultures with women and hijras from many parts of the world, which is reflected in our production. With our specific cast, it is likely that, as children, Hamida (Emma Van Lare) and Salima (Rotimi Agbabiaka) arrived at the harem on the same boat through the Arab slave trade from Africa. The Chief Nazeer of the harem and the most powerful interlocutor in the Empire, Salima was inspired by legendary hijras (who were castrated at a young age in order to work in the harem and rose to powerful positions in the Mughal court). Roshni (Sango Tajima), of Japanese descent, could have made it to India through the Portuguese slave trade that extended from Japan to Goa. Mariyam (Rinabeth Apostol) possibly arrived from a kingdom in the Philippines, which had pre-Spanish links with India via South East Asia. Gulal’s character (Nandita Shenoy) is inspired by the fierce warrior tribes of Mongolia.”

Rotimi Agbabiaka (Salima) and Raji Ahsan (Thermometer)
in a scene from House of Joy (Photo by: Jay Yamada)

While the geographical and cultural markers defining the characters in House of Joy may seem exotic to Westerners, the archetypes represented by the people in Shekar's play (a cruel Emperor, a hero from a despised subculture, a member of the royal family seeking to escape the harem, a conniving, manipulative woman with a hidden agenda) can be traced to fairy tales and folklore dating back through many centuries. Though Act I of Shekar's play unfolds with a tantalizing sense of mystery (buoyed by Rotimi Agbabiaka's outstanding characterization of Salima). As each character's backstory is revealed, it becomes fairly obvious to the audience that happy meals are not being served in the Emperor's harem and that Queen Mariyam has solid reasons for wanting to escape with her infant son.

The repressed sexual attraction between Gulal and Hamida leads to a surprising form of consciousness raising in which Gulal's ghost begins to question the decisions she made while alive and works to repair some of the damage she may have inflicted on others. Meanwhile, the nascent illegal romance blossoming between Mariyam and Thermometer adds further complications to the plot.

Rinabeth Apostol (Mariyam), Emma Van Lare (Hamida), and
Raji Ahsan (Thermometer) in a scene from House of Joy
(Photo by: Jay Yamada)

In Act II, when Salima explains to his friend, Hamida, what the carefully hidden agenda of Noorah (one of the most powerful women in the harem) is all about, the pieces of the harem's power puzzle fall into place. Roshnia and Hamida (the two guards who have previously provided most of the play's comic relief) are faced with decisions that will test their loyalty, bravery, and morality as the royal palace comes under attack.

Emma Van Lare (Hamida) and Sango Tajima (Roshnia)
in a scene from House of Joy (Photo by: Jay Yamada)

House of Joy is constructed with a keen balance of power shared by Salima,
Gulal, and Noorah (Lipica Shah) contrasted to the more desperate optimism of
Thermometer, Mariyam, Roshnia, and Hamida. Because much of the humor in Act I lays the groundwork for the risks taken in Act II, audiences may find the first half of Shekar's play more enticing (Act II starts to nag at one's conscience as the audience senses uncomfortable parallels to some of the inhumane acts they are witnessing in our contemporary political landscape). Unfortunately, on opening night, the play's dramatic final line -- which comes at a critical point of action -- was drowned out by the audience's enthusiastic applause.

Lipica Shah (Noorah) and Rotimi Agbabiaka (Salima)
in a scene from House of Joy (Photo by: Jay Yamada)

Performances of House of Joy continue through September 8 at the Bruns Amphitheatre in Orinda (click here for tickets).