Filmmaking is magical and I'm attracted to it: Andrij Parekh

Cinematographer-turned-director Andrij Parekh believes there is something "magical" about filmmaking as it captures the beauty of a moment on camera to be shared with hundreds of people around the world.

Parekh, who is of Ukrainian and Indian descent, is a well-known name in Hollywood's indie scene, having worked on half a dozen films and now that he has taken a plunge into direction with HBO's "Succession", he believes he is ready for the next big step.

Ryan Gosling's 2006 film "Half Nelson" was the first feature film Parekh shot as a cinematographer and he followed it up with cult hit "Blue Valentine", "It's Kind of a Funny Story" and "The Zookeeper's Wife".

He recalled how he took a trip around the world with a still camera. His favourite of all the moments he captured was a time-lapse shot of Taj Mahal.

"I started my journey by taking a trip around the world during a one-year hiatus from university with a still camera, and then visited India with a Super-8mm camera. I still remember my time lapse of the Taj Mahal at dawn so many years ago. Something in filmmaking is magical, and that's what I'm so attracted to. The beauty of a moment, seen by hundreds of beating hearts in a dark theatre," Parekh told PTI in an email interview.

"After my trip to India, I was taking filmmaking classes in San Francisco and then I applied to NYU Graduate School. The rest, as they say, is history. But it was travelling and watching people, places and cultures that inspired me. It still does today," he added.

Cinematography and direction are "deeply rooted" in cinema but are remarkably different, Parekh said.

"Directing requires a sense of total responsibility for what is put before the audience. As a cinematographer, I am always happy to make directorial suggestions which a director can either embrace or ignore, and in many ways as the cinematographer one is only responsible for the lighting and framing.

"But as the director you are responsible for everything. And it's the nuances of the performance that a director plays with, it's the mise-en-scene and everything in front of the camera."