Canadian filmmaker Jodeb transforms Mandopop star Bibi Zhou into an interdimensional puppet master controlling the lives of characters in her orbit, in the music video for her latest track ‘Lunar’. Zhou delivers a suitably celestial performance befitting the title of her new release.
The video was shot in Montreal and Iceland, with a cast of dancers. Jodeb creates an other-worldly landscape inhabited by brooding glaciers, basalt column caves, black sand beaches and moonlit lagoons, as a canvas for the magnetic presence of Bibi Zhou. ‘Lunar’ was commissioned by NOWNESS Senior Commissioner Michael Lewin, out of production companies Prettybird UK and Colossale.
Jodeb conceived the music video for ‘Lunar’ as a visual metaphor for self-awareness, primal feminine power and emotional turbulence. He captures Zhou’s inner strength and conveys the inner dialogue of self-control versus letting go with visual metaphors inspired by his love of human psychology and video games. “The video is about inner struggle and desperate measures. I tried to make an epic painting in motion that creates a dualism between uncontrollable forces, such as the moon and gravity, and inner struggles that are universal to everyone.” explained Jodeb.
Jodeb expands: “I went for a subconscious idea of a strong beautiful woman fighting some inner demons/personas, illustrating the walls between her feelings. I like to put unlikely elements against each other, often an adult v child concept. It was an experiment in expression and style. I was looking to create a simple, effective experience where you would rather feel than understand the concept. For me, it’s a very liberating process to just let myself go with a simple theme that shouldn’t require clutter, and let my amazing collaborators play with it as well. It’s been an incredible experience both in Montreal and Iceland, with unbelievable dancers and a crew of friends.”
Chinese artist Bibi Zhou has achieved international recognition in the Mandopop genre, a subgenre of commercial pop music sung in Mandarin. Zhou has released 12 studio albums and won Best Worldwide Act at the European MTV Awards in 2014. Her evolving style transcends Mandopop to embrace pop, rock and electronica, and has gained her recognition internationally as well as stellar status in China.
Jodeb is a Canadian director, writer, and editor, who has developed a career creating distinctive and visually astounding films. With a penchant for blending fictional elements into reality-based short-form formats, Jodeb's work has caught the attention of international audiences and brands. Jodeb has become best known for breath-taking music videos for some of today’s most popular artists, including Jack White, London Grammar, Point Point, Halsey, Skrillex, Imagine Dragons, Swedish House Mafia, the Weeknd, Cypress Hill, Deftones, and A$AP Rocky.
Screenwork Credits
Bibi Zhou @smilelikeachild, "Lunar"
Director: Jonathan Desbiens @jodeb, Director of Photography: Kristof Brandl @kristofbrandl, Visual Creative Director: Lucia Liu, NOWNESS Senior Commissioner: Michael Lewin
Production Company: PRETTYBIRD UK @prettybirdpic / COLOSSALE @wearecolossale, Executive Producer: Juliette Larthe @juliette_larthe, Colossale / Executive Producer: Vlad Cojocaru @vlad_cus, Head of Production: Hannah May @hannahannahmay, Executive Producer: Hannah Bellil @hannahbellil, Production Manager: Stefan Petrisor, Choreographer: Amy Gardner @amy.j.gardner,
Executive Stylist for Bibi Zhou:Betty Zhou at theBallroom, Make-Up Artist & Hair Stylist for Bibi Zhou: ChuanBo Zhang, Project Manager: Nono Sun at theBallroom, Coordinator: Effy He at theBallroom, Stylist for Dancers: AJ Helie @ajhelie, Stylist Assistant 1: Bianka Roussel Marino, Stylist Assistant 2: Daniel Dessureault Wright,
Montreal Production: Producer: Mathieu Leduc @mathleduc, Production Manager: Smith @smithisfamous, 1st AD: Stephane Bourdeau, 1st AC: Mathieu Nadon, 2nd AC: Charles Durand-Morin, Video Assist: Ronald Casseus, Steadicam: Hugo Longtin, Key Gaffer: Jacques Girard, Key Grip: Stephane Leblanc, BB Electric: Tony Pelletier, BB Electric: Loik Lessard, BB Grip: Andre Caron, BB Grip: Samuel Dempsey Rosemberg, BB Grip: Jean Marc Plante, Art Director: JF Clement, Art Dept. Assist: Sofia Rojas, Art Dept. Assist: Paola Ridolfi,
Art Build: Mordicus Inc. Props Master: Julie Vigneault, PA: Alexis Tremblay, PA: Arnaud Provencal, PA: Edouard Provencal
Iceland Production: Hero Productions @heroiceland, Producer: Bui Baldvinsson @buibaldvins, Line Producer: Þóra Margrétardóttir @thoramar, Location Manager: Alfred Gislason, Focus Puller: Michael Hannides @mhannides, 2nd AC: Rútur Skæringur, Key PA: Finni @finnifix, Runner: Ingimundur Viktor Helgason, Runner: Malwina Bieniawska, Runner: Sigrun Erlingsdottir, Runner: Tota Van Helzing @totavanhelzing
Dancers: Stefanie Noll, Morgan Williams, Maeva Berthelot, Mehdi Baki
