LA-based director Bianca Poletti invites audiences on a captivating journey of love and self-destruction in her latest music video, Lista, a collaboration with Cuban-American actress and singer-songwriter Nikki Lorenzo. The visually stunning video intricately explores the complex dynamics of a couple ensnared in toxicity, expertly navigating the delicate balance between passion and peril.
Lista reunites Nikki Lorenzo and True Detective star John Hawkes on screen, marking their third collaboration. In this latest venture, Lorenzo and Hawkes engage in a chaotic dance of emotions, portraying a couple desperately yearning to be together. Despite their fervent desire, they find themselves repeatedly drawn back, navigating the intricate maze of lust, love, desperation, sorrow, bliss, and jealousy.
Director Bianca Poletti, recently featured on NOWNESS for her latest short film, Ultra Low, describes Lista as a narrative about two people passionately seeking each other but unable to make the relationship work. The video delves into the magnetic spark that accompanies meeting someone truly captivating. Poletti emphasises the poignant conclusion of the relationship, stating, “I wanted the end to feel like something they both didn’t want; they fought to stay together, but there was no other option for them.”
To bring this cinematic vision to life, Poletti collaborated with dancer and choreographer Matilda Sokomoto, expertly breaking down the film into three distinct dances that capture the essence of excitement, enduring connection, and the inevitable end of a relationship. The visual aesthetics of the music video were meticulously crafted by Director of Photography Kayla Hoff, a longtime collaborator with Poletti, including their award-winning short film, I Am Whole.
Lista stands as a visual and emotional journey that transcends the ordinary, showcasing the depth of storytelling and artistic collaboration. Poletti’s unique ability to weave intricate narratives with visual brilliance continues to captivate audiences, solidifying her status as a visionary director.
Niccolò Montanari: The concept of Lista as a cinematic narrative exploring the three stages of a relationship through dance and movement is quite unique for a music video. What inspired you to interpret Nikki Lorenzo’s track in this way?
Bianca Poletti: Nikki and I had talked extensively about why she wrote Lista and what inspired it. She explained it was about an ex of hers, who she kept going back to, even when they both felt and knew that it wasn’t working. They kept coming back to each other. This was enough for me to start building around that concept. I thought breaking up the song into three dances and three moments in a relationship could be really visually interesting. Also, once we started location scouting, we found a location with a variety of really beautiful, dingy, and interesting rooms. With that, and the beginning spark of interest in playing with the layers of a relationship over time, I thought it would be interesting to put each part of the relationship in a different room. One room would represent the beginning of the relationship – the spark, the nerves, and the excitement of someone new that you feel so drawn to. The second room would show that a couple of years have passed, and things are starting to unravel, pulling you away from your partner. At the same time, you’re both still holding on and not ready to let go, still fighting to make it work. The last room would depict the end of a relationship, the point of no return for the two of them. They’re fighting, they’re yelling, they’re unable to turn back to that beginning spark and love they once had for each other. I think it’s fascinating how we all evolve over time, how we grow towards a partner or away from them, and truly how hard it is to say goodbye. Once I had that outline, I was lucky enough to work with a really talented choreographer, Matilda Sakamoto. When I told her about the themes, she created three beautiful dance moments that perfectly matched the emotional beats I wanted to capture with Nikki and John. Nikki and John, being insanely talented artists, did two Zoom sessions with Matilda and just nailed it immediately. I’m truly in awe of those two.
NM: Could you elaborate on how the collaboration between yourself, Nikki Lorenzo, and John Hawkes came to fruition for Lista? What were the initial discussions like?
BP: Nikki and I had talked about working together on a music video for one of her songs, we actually landed on a different song before Lista happened, it’s really beautiful, all of Nikki’s music is beautiful, but it had more of an upbeat vibe to it and we really wanted to make a music film together. Nikki then sent me Lista and I loved it immediately. I could connect with the lyrics, I loved the darker tone it inhabited and it felt cinematic. From that, Nikki had the idea of bringing on John (if he was interested of course), so I wrote it out based on the two of them being in this and shared it with Nikki. She loved it, so supportive and trusting. She then shared it with John, he loved it as well, knowing that it would be more like a film, cinematic, and not your typical music video. We took it from there! Very lucky the two of them were so trusting and just a dream to work with.
NM: The still photographs accompanying the music video add a distinct layer of intimacy. What motivated you to incorporate stills alongside the video? How do you feel they enhance the overall storytelling?
BP: I work pretty exclusively with a beyond talented photographer, Lauren Withrow, she’s a close friend of mine and SO great. Her work is really cinematic. Considering what I’m drawn to with photography. I wanted to make sure we had stills to also help tell the story of Lista and have enough variation to share when we premiered the film. I always try to do a separate shoot and/or have a stills shoot on set for each project, so that we’re not oversharing stills from the actual film before it’s released. I think it’s a nice way of rolling out new projects, and hopefully adds a new layer of visual interest.
NM: You have a history of selectively supporting independent projects. What about Lista compelled you to not only act in it but also take on the role of executive producer?
John Hawkes: I’ve known Nikki for many years and we’ve collaborated on several self-produced music and film projects. She’s a gifted writer and a fierce performer, an artist. She approached me awhile back about acting in a music video with Bianca directing. I said yes. They considered several different songs and ideas, and chose Lista. I really dug the song. It’s mysterious, evocative, and unsettling. It’s well written and beautifully sung. I was struck by the vibe of it, the feel of it—completed in Iceland by Nikki and an amazing producer named Salka. They killed it. Nikki had shown me some of the short film work Bianca had been doing. Really fine storytelling. Bold and unique; a singular vision and approach. They shared some ideas they had for Lista. It would be cinematic. It would feature dance. It would be surreal and dreamy. So I was in. Ready to serve.
NM: Choosing independent projects to support must be quite a process. Can you shed some light on how you decide which projects to get involved with? And how does working on such projects contribute to your creative growth?
JH: When considering projects, the first question I ask is “Why?” There’s plenty of art in the world. Does this project bring something new, different, worthwhile? It all begins and ends with story. Is it a story that I want to help tell? Is it well written? Next I consider my role in the story. Can I bring ideas and actions which serve and enrich the story? Finally, I look to be among kind and talented people capable of telling the story. Independent film, music, theatere—they’re vital to my health and happiness. They offer freedom, less compromise. An immediacy, a more direct attack. They’re more personal. Less money, more fun. But not always. Larger budget adventures have their place. And usually better food. But not always.
NM: There have been talks about a future feature collaboration between yourself, Nikki Lorenzo, and Bianca Poletti. Could you provide us with some insight into what we can expect from this project?
JH: I’m very keen on the possibility of collaborating on a feature film with these two. I know something of the story and setting, I’ll leave it to them to discuss the details. I know that music plays a key part of it, that I’ll be asked to contribute and perform original songs. I’m thrilled at the prospect.
NM: As the songwriter behind Lista, how did Bianca Poletti’s vision for the music film resonate with your original inspiration for the track? Were there any surprises or differences in how you imagined the visual representation?
Nikki Lorenzo: When I brought the idea to Bianca of doing a video about my experience with a specific kind of ouroborosesque cycle I was having with someone romantically, it became the beating heart she locked right into, seamlessly knowing how to paint it in every frame like the visual wizard she is. It helps that we share a creative mind, after years of knowing each other and collaborating together, so we aligned immediately with inspiration from some of our favorite films like, “Blue Valentine,” “In the Mood for Love,” and “Paris, Texas.” It really revealed itself in this piece, so in many ways, I was not surprised because she’s so gifted with turning the spirit of something into a visual art, and yet constantly surprised because it’s always magic to witness.
NM: Could you walk us through your creative process when writing music, particularly for projects like Lista?
NL: Writing music changes form every time for me. Tom Waits once said something about how writing a song is rearranging the air in the room. I’ve always liked that. I think for me it begins with living the experience and then regurgitating it as a form of survival. It was with my friend Bernardo Aguilera that I wrote the song. It took us a bit to get this one done and I nearly abandoned it before I found myself living in Iceland, a year after having written and produced a good chunk of it with Bernardo, where I met Salka Valsdóttir. She breathed new life into it with some added production (and then mixed and mastered it) which tied its pulse in a bow.
NM: Having collaborated with John Hawkes and Bianca Poletti previously, what do you believe makes this trio’s collaboration so impactful and successful? Are there any specific dynamics or approaches that contribute to the synergy between all of you?
NL: I think what connects us beautifully into our own poetic gravitational pull with each other is our love and curiosity for art. We’re devoted to exploring truth, wonder, and the depths (as well as the blindspots) of the human soul. We also have a lot of the same taste while bringing our different walks of life and designated perspectives, which is always fun to challenge or enmesh. And there’s a lot of respect there that allows a certain kind of trust within the space we create from.