After finishing the two Mecca Normal videos, I emailed Jamie Stewart, asking if I could direct a video for his band Xiu Xiu. He said sure, and sent me a copy of “Mousey Toy,” from their then-forthcoming album La Forêt (5 Rue Christine, 2005).
At that time, I treated each video as a chance to try something different. “No Mind’s Eye” had been all processed found footage. “In January” was, in contrast, all shot footage, presented without any processing. (Actually, one shot is processed, but I don’t think it’s discernible.) For “Mousey Toy,” I decided to use all hand-held footage that was, unlike with “In January,” focused around a single subject.
I shot nearly all of the footage at Robert Allerton Park in central Illinois (outside Monticello, IL). I went there with my friends Sarah and David McHone-Chase, as well as Katarzyna Jakubiak (the film’s subject). Some closer shots of Kasia were done in Bloomington, IL., and the aquarium’s in a science building on ISU’s campus. (I liked the resonance it provided with the third part of “In January.”)
La Forêt is probably my favorite Xiu Xiu album.
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