The Park Pictures director travelled to a remote region of Lanzarote with singer-songwriter/cellist Kelsey Lu and actor Garance Marillier to make videos, visualisers and a jawdropping short film for Lu's new album. We spoke to her about how the extraordinary project came together. Main photo: Rachel Jones-Williams

Savanah Leaf could have picked a more straightforward way to return to the world of making visuals for music. Instead, she chose a passion project - one that is itself a vehicle for passion, in its many forms.

The Anglo-American director who won a BAFTA for Outstanding Debut for her first feature Earth Mama has now made a remarkable suite of visuals for the new album by her good friend, the LA-based singer/composer/cellist Kelsey McJunkins - better known as Kelsey Lu. That has involved videos, visualisers and finally, the fully realised short film for the album So Help Me God that offers an intense exploration of a relationship in the starkest of settings.

Filmed in a deserted part of Lanzarote, we witness Lu and French actor Garance Marillier playing lovers at the edge of destruction at the edge of the world; a volcanic relationship played out on the volcanic slopes of this breathtaking island. 

The first release from the project, the video for Running To Pain, sets the scene of an emotional dance taking place between the two against extraordinary landscapes, playing out in long takes - the otherworldliness underlined by the incongruous, high fashion clothing worn by the protagonists. 

Followed by one-take visuals for the songs Portrait Of A Lady On Fire and Cutting Off The Head Of A Ghost - which focus upon intimacy, sensuality and Kelsey Lu's emotional turmoil - and further visualisers, all these different fragments have now been brought together into creating a complete picture. It's the full nearly 17-minute short film to accompany So Help Me God. 

I wanted to show the ebbs and flows of the album through the metaphor of a toxic relationship.

Containing six songs from the album, it's the full story of the destruction of a relationship and in some ways it's darker and uncompromising than the preceding visuals. There is more emphasis when passion becomes twisted, and when pain is clear to see.

As in Earth Mama - for which Kelsey Lu composed the music - Savanah Leaf is focussing upon an individual who is in the eye of a storm, and who needs to find a way out of suffering. But the So Help Me God film has its own specific atmosphere and haunting quality. So we asked Savanah a few questions about how she made this memorable film for her friend's new album.   

PROMONEWS: Kelsey Lu composed music for Earth Mama - is that how you met?

SAVANAH LEAF: Yes, Lu and I met when I was looking for a composer for the film. We met in a little restaurant in Brooklyn, and instantly we became close. We were giggling the whole time, sharing life stories, it just felt like an instant connection as soon as we sat down to eat. 

What was the starting point for the making of the So Help Me God film? 

SL: We had been discussing the album for a while, just as friends. I was listening to the music and giving thoughts, but also just listening and celebrating how beautiful it was.

I really felt like it was so cinematic from the first time I sat on her bed and listened to Reaper. Then it took maybe around seven months from her asking me to do the project, to us completing it. It went through many different ideas and forms, until the final project was realized. 

Above: High fashion in ashes - on the So Help Me God shoot. Photo credit: Alima Lee

What led you to this story of the characters’ tempestuous and disintegrating relationship and your approach? What were the primary emotions that you wanted to achieve?

SL: From the very beginning, Lu and I were discussing how the album felt like a shedding of a skin - a rebirth. It felt very raw, and unleashed these visceral emotions in so many different ways.

I wanted to show the ebbs and flows of the album through the metaphor of a toxic relationship. One [that] could be broken down into separate videos with each song, but then collectively could come together as a singular film - almost like a small musical with tasters of each of the songs on the album. We used the reference of the film The Inner Scar by Phillipe Garrel as an interesting example for this.

[For the long takes] I prepared as much as possible... and then trusted Lu and Garance to show up and perform.

When did Garance Marillier get involved in the project?

SL: Once the film treatment had been written and we had loose dates for the shoot, we started thinking about casting. Garance came up because we were discussing actors who are great with movement and have a physicality to their performances that are grounded and yet wild and unhinged.

Lu and I both loved the film Raw and were extremely excited by the potential of working with Garance. So when she said she wanted to do it, it felt like a perfect collaboration.

Above: Savanah Leaf (left), Garance Marillier (centre) and Kelsey Lu.

The amazing location in Lanzarote is crucial to the feel of the film. Was the setting part of the original idea or did it come later?

SL: We had budget restrictions, so we costed out a few different places around the world. Ultimately we landed on Lanzarote because of how beautiful the landscape is, but also how violent it feels as well. I mean it's quite literally bubbling beneath our feet. It created this physical obstacle for them to perform within, and became almost like a character in the story. 

Another distinctive aspect is the remarkable wardrobe, adding greatly to the visual aesthetic. Are these original pieces created for the film? Who was responsible for those, and the styling?

SL: Lu and I had spoken a lot about creating an ugly, dark fantasy in the clothing of the film. Edda Gudmundsdottir did the styling with Lu, and together they created a language in the clothing that also incorporated the physicality of the land itself.

We had lots of obstacles in just getting the clothing to this tiny Lanzarote island, and so Edda had to find a lot of creative solutions. She made a lot of the costumes [herself] - from the iconic heels with mud all over them to the deteriorating suit at the end of the film. Some of my favourite pieces were what she made while in Lanzarote.

Above: Kelsey Lu's beach look. Photo credit: Alima Lee

Lanzarote... became almost like a character in the story.

There are some bravura sequences - lengthy takes in spectacular landscapes, but not overly choreographed. How did you approach these?

SL: We had big ideas for long tracking shots, and durational dolly shots. This is something I have been doing since my film Earth Mama and I wanted to expand on these ideas in new ways.

We approached them by doing a lot of prep, blocking with my cinematographer, and then we often only had the time for a couple takes. So in large part I would try to prepare as much as possible, give as best direction as I could, and then trust our actors (Lu and Garance) to show up and perform. And they really did!

When did you shoot it, and how long did you have to shoot it? Who were your important collaborators on the shoot?

SL: We shot last year in November for four days. In those four days we made 2 music videos, 8 visualizers and a short film. It was insane. I'm still confused how we made that happen. But I do have to give a big thanks to my cinematographer Ryan Marie Helfant, my producers Jill Ferraro, Mia Jarrett, and Park Pictures’ Shelley Jones and Fran Thompson.

Above: Savanah Leaf (left) and Kelsey Lu. Photo: Garance Marillier

It took around seven months from her asking me to do the project to us completing it.​

On the back end we had so many incredible people that worked in edit, VFX and colour grade (Thomas Grove Carter, Ben Elkaim, Jason Wallis, and many more). Everyone truly gave this project so much time and energy, and I feel very lucky that they trusted me to guide them along the journey.  

What were the big challenges of the shoot? And as you were also drawing several music videos from the shoot as well as the short film, what challenges did that present?

SL: So many. I couldn’t pin-point one thing. I mean we were on a tiny island, with limited resources, and it felt like everything every day was falling apart. From our locations, [to] getting clothing on the island, to just getting food for dinner because everywhere was closed...

And yet - we did it! We always found a way. That's truly a huge thanks to the team around us, because I couldn’t have done it without them.

• Kelsey Lu's new album So Help Me God is out now; Savanah Leaf is represented for music videos and commercials at Park Pictures.