Hello.

" Continuing their ongoing creative partnership, Paris-based filmmaker Neels Castillon directs the music video for Hello – the latest track from Polish pianist and composer Hania Rani. Shot in the Alps, the video documents a live session recorded against breathtaking mountain scenery, incorporating a dance sequence performed by Czech dancer and visual artist Mr. Kriss – aka Kristián Mensa. A connection in movement between the music and the natural environment, choreographed with Mr. Kriss in the role of playful disruptor, the video marks Castillon and Rani’s latest collaboration since 2020 releases F Major and Soleil Pâle, forming a union of sound and vision that reflects the director’s instinctively fluid approach.

Meditating on Hello and its deeper meaning, Rani explains, “Hello is a track about feeling a bit uneven and restless during the night. It is about this strange inner feeling that makes you stay awake and make plans, question things, overthink and not be able to sleep. But it's an interesting state. The whole nervous system is full on, everything seems a bit exaggerated and you lose control over your mind. Repetitive words "hello" are a little reminder to yourself to stay sane and think clearly. It is reaching out for other people in the very strange, empty space where you landed.”    

Premiere on Nowness.

directed by Neels Castillon

dancer — Kristián Mensa
drums — Wojtek Warmijak
double bass — Ziemowit Klimek @ziemowitklimek

production company — Motion Palace
producer — Louis Arnoux
executive producer — Ariane Cornic
production coordinator — Sandrine Laveau
cinematographer — Eric Blanckaert
1 AC — François Gallet
2nd AC — Adrien Stefas
production designer — Romain Quartier
art director — Vincent Perrin
runner — Zoé Lazzaroni
runner — Elie Varraz

sound engineer / live record — Miche Moreno
mix — Greg Freeman
mastering — Norman Nitzsche
tour manager — Bernard Ambroziewicz
driver — Tomasz Milewski
driver — Michał Żagan
artist managers — Monika Ignaczewska & Carlo Garrè (!K7 Music)

editor — Sébastien Rouquet
colorist — Sylvain Canaux
camera rental — RVZ
sound recording equipment — MADLOC

Many thanks to — Manon Lazzaroni, Sébastien Lazzaroni, Estelle Rudelle,
Jacky Ruffier, Mairie de Courchevel, Aymerick Mermoz, Florent Hazucka, Kelly Piano, Saint Louis.

storyboard 

behind the scene with a Fuji GA645