Developed in collaboration with Sol Y Motion, a family band known for their sun-drenched “vacation rock”. This debut music video explores intimacy in the age of algorithmic desire.

The project began production in early 2020 and was halted by the onset of COVID-19. After an extended hiatus, we reconvened to reimagine and complete the piece— An act of creative resilience and collective vision!

Made alongside a powerhouse crew of UT students (she/her/they), whose collaboration and craft shaped every frame.

Stream it on YouTube, HERE → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHaVTgRqYdg

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Director’s Statement

Heartbreak manifests differently, in our modern age— It leeches onto life in notifications, photo archives, late-night scrolling (or stalking), the curated para-social afterlife of online relations... It’s a longing you can't log out of. I was interested in exploring what happens when that technological longing becomes personified into a physical creature that you can't escape.

This piece came to life in collaboration with Thomas Klein and Nahir Kalaf, during our early ideation and story-creation stage… It imagines that personification as a block-headed character, modeled after the coffee-shop walls in which we had our first project meeting. It became an ominous presence that chases our lead (Thomas Klein) through cyberspace as he attempts to escape its predatory grasp. It feeds on vulnerability while it tries to induct Thomas into its cult of toxic technological disassociation.

Visually, I wanted to capture the cold and lifeless feel of our online spaces... A digital atmosphere that feels familiar but glossy, uncanny through the screen. There's a tension between organic emotion and artificial space that blurs the lines of reality.

Completing this project, after not knowing whether it would find fruition at all, was deeply meaningful to me. As my first music video and "professional-project' endeavor, it became a personal anecdote about learning from your mistakes, maintaining endurance during difficult moments/times, and self-actuation against all odds (ie. COVID, the greatest cognitive-dissonance-inducing odd that our modern society had come to know). While we were limited to our green-eared skills and nonexistent budget capabilities, I’m endlessly proud of the way this project culminated.

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CAST & CREW:

Production Crew: UT Women in Cinema, Student Organization (2020)
Story by: Thomas Klein, Nahir Kalaf, Catarina Rae Tamez
Cast: Thomas Klein, Nick Klein, Stephanie Mileo, Amber Dey, Chris Klein, Mattie Jones
Director / DOP:Catarina Rae Tamez
1st AD: Nahir Kalaf, Megan Shen
2nd AD: Rose Marin, Michelle Janet
Unit Leads: Nahir Kalaf, Megan Shen, Olivia Abercrombie
Line Producer: Michelle Meza
1st AD: Nahir Kalaf, Kennedye Harris
2nd AC: Mattie Jones
Gaffer: Mattie Jones, Kennedye Harris
Key Grip: Paige Miller, Katie Ura
Production Designer: Amber Dey, Kennedye Harris
Costume & Makeup: Amber Dey
Art Assistants: Katie Ura, Paige Miller, Amber Duhon, Olivia Aberrombie
Editors: Catarina Rae Tamez, Nahir Kalaf
Producers: Catarina Rae Tamez, Nahir Kalaf, Megan Shen, Kennedy Harris, Michelle Meza, Thomas Klein, Nick Klein, Chris Klein,
Special Thanks: UTexas RTF, Windy Point Park ATX, Bob Wentz Park ATX, Maafer Lopez-Klein, Marilu Lopez, Kennedye Harris (Glitter)