Stromae 'Santé' by Jara Moravec & Luc Van Haver
Promonews - 20th Oct 2021
Jara Moravec has directed a wonderfully heartfelt and uplifting video for the long-awaited return of Belgian-born singer-songwriter Stromae.
Co-directed by Stromae’s creative director Luc Van Haver - the brother of the artist, aka Paul Van Haver - the visual reflects the sentiment behind the song Santé, which is an ode to the people who seem invisible but yet are vital to our communities, often immigrants from other cultures into those communities. It's a call for respect to the ones who keep everything going, without ever receiving recognition.
So Moravec and Van Haver introduce us to this world of forgotten workers - the fishermen, cleaners, bakers, cooks and office workers - who during the course of the video are all drawn into a basic, part animated dance tutorial that appears on their TVs, which is presented by Stromae.
It's shot in a humane documentary-style, and the authenticity of these unsung heroes is unquestionable - but as the dance tutorial starts to make its influence felt upon these initially tentative participants, a sense of euphoria grows.
With this wonderful song - influenced, as is so much of Stromae's music by his Congolese roots - the effect is transcendent.
JARA MORAVEC:
I wanted to match the vibrancy and saturation of the track with equally strong visuals.
“Working on Stromae’s music video was a surreal experience. I remember dancing to his tunes in my early twenties.
"I have a lot of respect for the boldness of the new track Santé. Even though it melts so many different music elements in a very unusual, almost jarring way, it’s an undeniable hit. I wanted to match the vibrancy and saturation of the track with equally strong visuals.
"Oh, I forgot to say that Santé is such an earworm! It rang in the heads of the whole crew for days after the shoot.”
"Stromae is one of Europe's most valued artists, and this new track marks an important return to the music scene and to his fans. For me personally, hearing his songs, with his very distinct and danceable style, also triggers a bit of nostalgia, so I was really excited when I first heard this new track.
"Stromae's modesty and his power to give a voice, through his music and impactful lyrics, to those who are often unheard were among the reasons we loved working on this concept for the music video from day one.
"We are thrilled to have produced his first video after 5 years off the charts and Jara alongside co-director and creative director Luc van Haver, did an exceptional job at bringing the characters portrayed by Stromae’s poignant lyrics to life.”
Promonews - 20th Oct 2021
Credits
Featured here in the credits?
Production/Creative
- Director
- Jára Moravec
- Co-Director
- Luc Van Haver
- Producer
- Pim Verhaert
- Production Company
- H
- Executive Producer
- Jason Felstead
- Executive Producer
- Ruben Goots
Camera
- Director of Photography
- Filip Marek
Art
- Art Director
- Natalia Makhovska
Wardrobe
- Hair
- Iris Onufrienko
- Make-up
- Dasha Taivas
- Wardrobe
- Margarita Shekel
Editorial
- Editor
- Tianès Montasser
Grading
- Colourist
- Arthur Paux
VFX
- Post production company
- Blue Faces
- Post Producer
- Monika Kraft
Other credits
Agency
Mosaert
Creative Directors
Luc Van Haver, Paul Van Haver
Stromae’s Fashion Designer
Coralie Barbier
Executive Assistant
Evence Guinet – Dannonay
Communication & Project Manager
Gaëlle Birenbaum
Product Manager
Roxane Hauzeur
Service Production
Shelter.film
Service Producers
Albert Zurashvili, Gena Shevchenko, Marina Karmolit,
Casting Directors
EASY Casting
Dasha Deriagina
Nina-Lou Giachetti
Promonews - 20th Oct 2021