What triggered the idea behind the film?
This story is inspired by my interpretation of a real encounter I experienced while hitchhiking through California when I was seventeen. It was an encounter of the third kind, or at least something I found difficult to explain within the boundaries of ordinary reality.
I’d always dreamed of creating a project that would allow me to return to that period of my life and explore the small, seemingly coincidental events that shaped it, somewhere between memory, fiction and reality.
When CQL approached me and we listened to his debut album together, I immediately felt a connection between his music and that idea. The sound had a dreamy, nostalgic quality that brought me back to that time, and I felt compelled to share this personal concept with his team, while being fully transparent about its origins.
Rather than recreating the encounter literally, I wanted to capture the impression it left behind: the strange feeling of having experienced something that couldn’t quite be rationalised, and the way certain experiences can quietly alter our perception of the world before we fully understand their significance.
The music video became an opportunity to revisit that memory and allow it to transform through slow, tableau-like sequences that reflect the way I experienced it. Almost like a final attempt to hold onto something fleeting, preserving not only what happened, but the emotions, uncertainty and questions that remained.
Looking back, I realise that encounter became a lens through which I continue to understand the world around me today.
Did you develop the idea specifically for this track, or was it something you’d been waiting to find the right project for?
It was made specifically for the song. I’ve been collaborating with Cinéma Quartier Latin (Lambert), and we’ve been friends for a while, so he always gives me 100% creative freedom.
Love the locked-off framing, is that influenced by your work as a photographer?
I love this question because yes, totally. Most of my visual references — or dream references — come from photographers and photo books, from old archives to contemporary work.
I’ve practised and worked in photography, especially documentary photography, a lot over the past few years. As I slowly transitioned into directing, that way of thinking naturally followed me into filmmaking.
There’s the cliché that “one image is worth a thousand words”, and in my photography practice that’s always been something I’ve tried to achieve. I want the image to carry its own meaning and emotion without needing to explain too much. I find that even more relevant to me as a director now.
See BTS here
