Undeniably linked to the people and events that sparked the movement in the first place, the Cannes Film Festival found itself, earlier this year, under the spotlight of the globe-sweeping #metoo phenomenon. Cate Blanchett organised a women-only red carpet march to protest gender inequality among the film-makers historically honoured at Cannes (only 82 of the 1,727 films ever selected for the ultimate Palme d’Or prize have been directed by women). As a female photographer, it was a privilege to be assigned to take a portrait of Swiss female director Ursula Meier.

Every year, the Sunday Times Magazine devotes an entire edition to the Rich List, the definitive directory of the richest people in the world. This year was the guide’s 30th anniversary and the magazine’s picture editor had a billionaire’s portrait to assign to me in Monaco for a Rich List Interview special. I was to photograph Number 48, the founder of easyJet.

‘The world’s biggest bribe scandal’, they called it. The claims were indeed dramatic, and cracked code in leaked documents had exposed it all. Multi-million dollar bribes had allegedly been paid. The hands of corrupt officials in unstable states like Libya and Iraq had supposedly been plentifully greased so that some of the world’s biggest brands could get their own mitts on precious oil reserves. Allegedly orchestrating the ‘arrangements’ was a small, jet-setting family based in Monaco. Last summer, I was assigned to make a portrait of the middle son in this ‘family business’.

The call about this Saturday morning portrait shoot came at 5 pm the day before. The Guardian was planning an annual ‘Conversations’ special for the weekend magazine, and an extra celebrity pairing had been added to the feature last-minute. Time was tight to get the photographers’ work to the designer for layout, and the fact that one subject was on holiday in the South of France was not going to scupper the plan. Could I help in a tight spot? When I said yes, I had no idea how tight the spot would turn out to be.

Lakhdar lives a simple, anonymous life in the South of France, in a little village in the hills above Nice. He has children, enjoys gardening, and likes quietly watching the world go by from the terrace of his local café. Yet few of his neighbours know that his story has been told in the international press. Prior to his arrival on the French Riviera, Lakhdar Boumediene spent 7 years incarcerated in Guantánamo Bay and was the first detainee to win a court case for his release. I was commissioned as photographer to take the portrait for his biography.

The little boat lurched violently in the swell off the coast of Marseille. I hugged my photographer’s bag tightly, trying keep it safe above the rising water level at my feet. “Don’t worry, its not leaking too fast, we should make it back to port in time”, shouted Carlo, just above the noise of the wind. I was out at sea with a Sunday Times Magazine journalist, my assistant Lou and physicist Carlo Rovelli. A best-selling author, Rovelli is a specialist in black holes and the proud owner of a slightly dilapidated pointu fishing boat.