Singers Tamino and Angèle Star in Their Own Magical Play in 'Sunflower' Promo by HAMLET

International production company HAMLET has produced a new music video for Sunflower, the song from Belgian singer songwriter Tamino featuring star singer and multi music-award winner and Chanel muse Angèle.

With slow steadicam/crane movements and cinematic film noir lighting, Sunflower combines elements of the old with the new. The story is set in a theatre as if it’s a play performed by Tamino and Angèle, creating a modern take on silent film style of the late 1900s, using theatre-style backdrops and primitive special effects.

Directed by trio Bastiaan Lochs, Ramy Moharam Fouad and Jonathan Van Hemelrijck, the promo is inspired by The Distance of the Moon, a story by Italian writer Italo Calvino. In a surreal theatrical universe Tamino, a lost sailor, finds Angèle climbing a ladder in the middle of the sea reaching all the way to the moon. Tamino curiously follows her up onto the lunar surface, to find out the purpose of her mysterious endeavour; she’s watering a lonely sunflower.

Before they’re able to reach each other they get separated by a mysterious force, resulting in Tamino falling back to earth. Moved by what he experienced and searching for answers, Tamino heads back out to sea. But as the sun breaks through for the very first time, he only finds a giant sunflower reaching into the clouds.

Bastiaan Lochs, co-director who scripted the story: “What was difficult at first was imagining how the universes of Tamino and Angèle could be combined. Their aesthetics are very different and we were worried about how to make them match. This world that we created takes notes from Angèle’s imaginative playfulness, but stays true to the gloominess of Tamino’s storytelling. All worries melted away as soon as both of them came on set in their handmade outfits. They blended together so naturally in this crafty set decor that we wondered why we ever expected differently.” 

"It’s unconventional to direct a music video with three people, but looking back, it was the best choice for the project.  Each of us brought their unique strengths to the table, resulting in a film that carries the soul of us all.” adds Jonathan Van Hemelrijck, one third of the occasional directing trio.

Jason Felstead, Hamlet co-founder and executive producer says: “This film feels so very right for the Tamino & Angèle collab, the concept is completely in line with the song. I feel it’s an original and a strong concept, and I like how every aspect of the film is thought through and designed in an unexpected way. I’m quite thrilled with the end result and the energy that Hamlet and the whole team put into this film pays off beautifully.”