Few filmmakers are so acutely skilled at bringing the interior lives and personal pains of young men to life as “Tarnation” filmmaker Jonathan Caouette, who so memorably did just that with his own lauded feature debut: the 2003 documentary “Tarnation.” Since the introduction of both “Tarnation” and Caouette to the indie film scene, the filmmaker has spent most of his creative time working on both music-centric offerings, like co-directing the festival-focused “All Tomorrow’s Parties,” and continuing to reexamine his own experiences through deeply personal docs, like “Walk Away Renee,” which again focused on his relationship with his mother.
Next up: a smart marrying of his interests, care of a brand-new music video for Nyles Lannon (formerly known as N. Lannon), which uses memory, inventive filmmaking, and a clear love for music to tell a story about one boy growing up and, per the song’s own title, “hiding” in some complex ways.
Of the music video, Lannon said in an official statement, “Basically, the story is that songs and videos continuously evolve as we collaborate. This has led to alternate versions of songs with videos also changing, like we are riffing off each other.”
He continued, “The story with ‘Hiding’ is an interesting one: My song ‘Valerie’ (from my last album) had an alternate version, called ‘Valerie 2.’ Jonathan loved ‘Valerie 2’ and made a video for it that was featuring a boy in his own world, isolated, hiding from his parents. That version of the song led me to write ‘Hiding’ (discerning listeners will notice some lyrics are similar to ‘Valerie,’ but now with a completely different meaning) and also led Jonathan to create a new video that took the old one he did and mashed it with a newer color and clips. … It wouldn’t have even been a song without Jonathan’s collaboration. I’ve never worked like that before.”
Lannon returns on March 1 with “The Clouds and the Sea,” his first release since 2015’s “Falling Inside.” Earlier this year, the first single from the EP, “Love Again” was featured on the NBC show “New Amsterdam.” Check out IndieWire’s exclusive music video for “Hiding” below.