Woman Holding Icon

In my travels to collect stories of vampires, werewolves and forest spirits in Transylvania I interviewed the woman in this picture. She invited us in to her small modest home and her family served us something to eat while she quietly waited for the interview to commence. She then proceeded to tell us that she was on her "death bed" and the stories she would tell us were some of her last.

While I do not know if she is still with us in this world, I wished to honor her kindness and wisdom by making this photo the cover of the DVD packaging (for our film Across the Forest). I like the juxtaposition of the new (the stereo) with the old (the icon). The icon had been in her family for over two hundred years. She was very proud of having preserved it through the ravages of time, poverty and government harassment (Romania suffered under Communism for almost 50 years). No matter how things change there is still the belief in the supernatural in all parts of the world.

--Justin Blair

acrosstheforest@gmail.com