British cinema has just lost one of its true visionaries, director Ken Russell.
We crossed paths once, at Pineapple dance studios in London. At the time I had a huge beard and as we passed, on a staircase, like two directors in the night, he gave me a very warm inviting smile. Later on I discovered he had been holding auditions there for a production of Treasure Island and concluded he must have mistaken me for an aspiring pirate.
RIP
