In a sleepy seaside town, Chappell Roan falls in love with a mysterious Siren but soon realizes that the creature is more dangerous than she ever could have imagined.

Interview with Writer/Director Hadley Hillel

Congratulations! Why did you make your film?

Chappell and I wanted to do something unexpected for her song Casual. I think we both knew what the easy, literal version of the video would be and wanted to push away from that. We started throwing around other ideas and landed on the concept of falling in love with a Siren, which felt really exciting since there are so few queer creature romance stories out there. Then the challenge was figuring out what the universal experience of a situationship would look like filtered through that lens.

My personal philosophy is that a good music video should always bring something new to the table - a new theme, a character, a new narrative - that elevates the song and changes your understanding of it. Otherwise, what’s the point of making it? Ideally, I want people to come away from any video I’ve made with a new perspective on the song and have that change how they hear it moving forward.

Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?

It uses a fantasy metaphor to explore something that’s rarely depicted on-screen: the pain of being in a casual relationship where one side is more committed than the other. Hopefully, beneath the fantastical elements, audiences will feel like they saw parts of themselves in the characters and come away wanting to discuss what the Siren represents and why she makes the choices she does.

How do personal and universal themes work in your film?

A lot of the moments included in the story were inspired by real experiences that Chappell has had in past casual relationships. She and I talked for hours about what specifically makes those situations so uniquely painful, and then I tried to put as much of that into the treatment as I could. I think that was a pivotal part of making such a fantastical concept feel grounded, real and relatable. We both really pushed to make sure that every scene felt like the most unique, specific version of those moments. And I think that’s one of the biggest reasons the piece has provoked such strong emotional responses from people.

How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?

Initially, the story was much larger in scale - at one point we had enough scenes to make a 12-minute short film. Things like the Siren meeting Chappell’s family, etc. So the challenge was finding a way to distil it down to only the most powerful, impactful moments and throw out everything that wasn’t absolutely essential to the narrative. Which I think was a great learning process for me as a storyteller. I always prefer to start with too much story and cut it down, because it forces you to convey everything efficiently.

The design of the Siren also changed a lot throughout pre-production. We always had to carefully walk the line of beautiful and terrifying. I knew pushing too far in either direction wouldn’t work; it had to land somewhere right in the middle.

What type of feedback have you received so far?

We’re very lucky to have received overwhelmingly positive feedback thus far. It’s so exciting to hear that it struck a chord with people and made them emotional. It sounds like a lot of people were able to see themselves in it - both as Chappell and the Siren - which is always the hope with work like this.

Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?

Absolutely. I think the biggest thing that really struck me is how many people understood the symbolism. For example, we had a lot of conversations about how the color palette of Chappell’s wardrobe becomes more like the Siren as she loses herself in her relationship, and I’m blown away by how many people picked up on that. Chappell’s lyrics always evoke such vivid imagery to tell the story, so it was a fun challenge to find visual motifs that helped advance the narrative of the video in the same way.

But my personal favorites are the comments from fans who find meaning we didn’t even intend. Things like what the red popsicle represents, why Chappell removes letters from the ‘Welcome Home’ sign in the order she does, etc. I’m very moved that people feel invested enough in the characters and world of the video to talk about things like that. Honestly, it’s inspiring me to incorporate more symbolism into future projects.

What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?

Connecting with a broader audience! This is a story that we’re all really excited to share, so it’s an honor to be featured here on We Are Moving Stories and get the opportunity to reach new people.

Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?

We screened at SXSW in March and would love to take the video to more festivals! Music videos rarely get to screen in a theatrical setting and our few festival screenings have been really special, so we would love to find a home at any other festivals that want to share stories like this. But beyond that, just looking for anyone else who connects with the piece and wants to help us broaden our reach.

What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?

I hope people come away from our video with a fresh understanding of the themes in the song. Ideally, if we’ve done our job right, it adds new depth and complexity to what people already imagined when they heard the lyrics and inspires new conversations.

What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?

Why do we stay in non-committal relationships despite the pain they cause?

Would you like to add anything else?

Support music videos! Share them when they resonate or connect with you. So many labels are cutting back on music videos right now and they’re such a powerful tool to elevate the music, create a world around a song and add visual depth to the themes.

What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?

I have several feature films in development, all set in unique fantasy worlds, and a few other exciting projects on the horizon.

Chappell Roan released her debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, last year and has been busy touring since.

Interview: April 2024

We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela

Chappell Roan - Casual

In a sleepy seaside town, Chappell Roan falls in love with a mysterious Siren but soon realizes that the creature is more dangerous than she ever could have imagined.

Length: 6:35

Director: Hadley Hillel

Producer: Gia Rigoli

Writer: Hadley Hillel

About the writer, director and producer:

HADLEY HILLEL is a Los Angeles-based director with a love of magical realism and surreal fantasy worlds. His work has won more than 40 jury and audience awards, gained international distribution and earned him the ‘Directing for Drama’ Student Emmy at the College Television Awards. He is currently writing his first feature and has several other projects in development.

GIA RIGOLI is a Los Angeles-based Mexican-American film producer who made her producing debut at the age of 20 with the feature film, Rock Steady Row. The film premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival and won both the Narrative Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award for Best Narrative Film. Gia holds a BFA in Creative Producing from Chapman University and her senior thesis film was a Student Academy Award Finalist.

Key cast: Chappell Roan (Herself), Mika Léshā (The Siren)

Looking for: journalists

Facebook: Chappell Roan

Twitter: @Chappell Roan

Instagram: @hadleyhillel

Hashtags used: #ChappellRoan #Casual

Website: Hadley Hillel

Other: Vimeo

Where can I watch it next and in the coming month?

On YouTube.
More film festivals to come soon!