My new photobook ‘Once Upon a Time in Shanghai’ has already been generating some media buzz. Here are a few links interviews and stories about the book: Bloomberg: Behind the Scenes of China’s Multibillion-Dollar Film Studios Wired: China’s Sprawling Movie Sets Put Hollywood to Shame New York Times: These Books Take You to a Wild Place It’s Nice That: Mark Parascandola documents the scenery and sets of China’s booming film industry SupChina News: ‘The Ambiguity Between Truth And Fiction’ Interview Radii.China: Photographing Behind the Scenes of the Chinese Film Industry Daily Mail: The mega Chinese film studios that put Hollywood to […]
Read MoreThis week the Daily Mail published a feature article on my photo project documenting the legacy of Hollywood and international filmmaking in Almeria, Spain. Here is one excerpt from the interview published in the article: ‘The Western towns built by Sergio Leone and others were not meant to be accurate representations of the American West. Instead, they were constructed to meet filmmakers’ vision of what the American West was like. ‘The Spaghetti Western has been described as a myth of a myth, because it is one step further removed from the myth of the original Hollywood Westerns. ‘However, this myth […]
Read MoreArtist Talk: Thursday, February 11, 2016 from 6 PM – 8 PM BRINK DC – 1516 U St NW, Washington, District of Columbia 20009 WASHINGTON, DC – Massey is incredibly pleased to announce new photographic work by artist Mark Parascandola. Following along his previous series, Once Upon a Time in Almeria, China Film documents film sets and locations around Beijing, Shanghai, and Hengdian, China. China is the second largest film market in the world, after the U.S., and it continues to grow. Box office receipts amounted to $6.8 billion in 2015, a 49% increase over the previous year. Around the […]
Read MoreExcerpts from the press conference for the exhibit “Érase una vez en Almería: decorados, restos y paisajes del cine” are now posted online. The brief presentation includes statements from Francisco Alonso, head of the Instituto de Estudios Almerienses, Mar Verdejo, coordinator of the exhibition, and myself, talking about the content of the exhibition and Almería’s film history. The press conference was held October 8 in the Palacio Provincial de la Diputación. The exhibit opened the following day at the Salón Polivalente de Tabernas as part of the fifth edition of the Almería Western Film Festival. Click below to watch the […]
Read MoreThis summer “La Voz de Almería” conducted a survey to pick the best films shot in the area since 1961. Hundreds of films have been made in the region over the past half century and 65 local cinema experts such as film experts, actors, directors, historians, writers were asked to select their top ten best movies filmed in Almería. “Lawrence de Arabia”, “Indiana Jones and the last crusade” and “The Good, the Ugly and the Bad” occupied the top three positions of the list and were considered among the best ever made. “Vivir es fácil” was the first Spanish movie appearing […]
Read MoreMy exhibit “Érase una vez en Almería: Decorados, Restos y Paisajes de Cine” (“Once Upon a Time in Almería”) opened last week in Almería, Spain, with a reception and artist talk. The show includes 18 framed prints 24″ x 36″, all images of film sets and locations around the province of Almería, which was the site of hundreds of movie productions throughout the 1960s and 1970s. It was an emotional experience for me to have these photographs exhibited in Almería. The town of Tabernas, where the exhibit was located, is host to three remaining western movie towns and has been […]
Read MoreMy exhibition “Érase una vez en Almería: Decorados, Restos y Paisajes de Cine” (“Once Upon a Time in Almería”) was inaugurated this last weekend in Almería, Spain. The exhibition included 18 framed prints 24″ x 36″, all images of film sets and locations around the province of Almeria, which was the site of hundreds of movie productions primarily in the 1960s and 1970s. The exhibition showed sets built to recreate shootings, constructions where “good, bad and ugly folks” found a shelter and landscapes through where stagecoaches were heading to the unknown. “Mark Parascandola presents his vision of what is left […]
Read MoreOn a recent visit to Almeria I was interviewed for “Abierto al Atardecer” on Interalmeria Tv. We discussed my great uncle, artist Federico Castellon, photographing movie locations and the neighborhood of La Chanca in Almeria, and the breaking news of the day — the demolition of the historic mine processing plant known as El Toblerone. As a fan of abandoned industrial spaces and their historical and cultural significance, I certainly felt compelled to offer an opinion. The video, and my awkward spanish, can be seen by clicking the image below:
Read More“‘Once Upon a Time,’ Almería Was Home to Cowboys and Cleopatra,” review by Gail Sullivan in the Washington Diplomat. Read the article here
Read MoreFriday’s Metro Connection on WAMU carried a segment on my ‘Once Upon a Time in Almeria’ exhibition at the Embassy of Spain. The segment appeared, appropriately enough, on their annual Haunted DC Halloween special. I walked through the exhibit with reporter Emily Berman as we talked about the history of Almeria, about visiting deserted locations before dawn, and about the ghosts of movies past. The audio segment is available on the WAMU website . From Metro Connection’s summary: During the 1960s and ’70s, Almeria, a province on the southern coast of Spain, hosted dozens of filmmakers and movie stars. Even […]
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