SXSW Festival: interview with Ben Callner, director of Xinobi's 'Strides' videoclip

How did you come up with the idea of building the video around “Muy Bien” stickers and the concept of spontaneous positivity?

As seemingly random as it all may feel (hello spontaneous, absolutely bizarre dancing and glowing fanny-packs, not to mention stickers written in Spanish despite the fact that we’re in Portugal)… it’s actually all based in reality… on a real experience I had.

I filmed a commercial in Berlin, and two lovely Berliners (Dom and Luka) were a part of my art-department. When the shoot was over, they pulled a couple of stickers out of their fanny packs and handed them to me. The stickers said, “Muy Bien.” I asked them what it meant. They said, “Whatever you want it to.” Turns out they make these stickers and hand them out all over the world. 

This random act of kindness - and creativity (the stickers were super colorful and well-designed), it made me smile. And it was still making me smile when I thought about these two guys months later while eating breakfast in a New York City cafe and an EDM track starts playing over the cafe speakers. The music paired perfectly with the memory of this muy-bien-moment, and it all developed super quickly from there.

How did the atmosphere of Lisbon influence the narrative and aesthetics of the video?

Lisbon is incredibly hilly. Being able to look over the city, to have our two heroes start at an elevated place (perhaps a fountain) where they can receive this “gift” (i.e. the strobing fanny packs) and then descend into the heart of the city, sharing this idea/movement with the people… I’m not sure this underlying theme of innocence (maybe even angels?) descending upon humanity would have ever come about had it not been for the topography (and overall magical-nature) of Lisbon.

And by the way, this underlying theme of angels imparting a gift, only to be rejected and ultimately try again… this was/is never meant to be overtly expressed. Truly, there’s no right way to feel or understand the music video. To quote the real-life Muy Bien gang (including the two leads, Dom and Luka), the goal is that this video means, “Whatever you want it to.” But regardless of symbolism, it’s hopefully at least fun and/or interesting to watch. 

The video explores the themes of inclusivity and resistance to change: how did you balance these elements in the visual narrative?

The films and music videos I love most are usually the ones that not only entertain and make me laugh (or at least smile) but also the ones that feel grounded… no matter how bizarre. Because then I usually also feel something… or maybe even think.

That said, this idea of outsiders handing out stickers via strobing fanny packs and creating a following of joyful, inclusive, free-spirited dancers is/was already a bit bizarre (and maybe even smile-inducing). But in order to ground things, there needed to also be people who opposed the positivity… because that’s what would happen in real life. 

No matter how undeniable something may be (whether it’s the fact that we live on a round planet or that we cannot live solely off of raw fruit), there are always people (educated… real people) who wholeheartedly disagree… hello flat-earthers and fruitarians. And it’s not that these people believe these things just because… they have their reasons. 

That said, it was important that our anti-muy-bien mob had their reasons as well… and it couldn’t just be because that they don’t like stickers. 

This also meant that our two heroes had to do (and represent) more than just stickers. They needed to feel a bit other-worldly, with stickers that felt less like vandalism and more like symbolism. Most importantly, our heroes needed to feel genuinely innocent and well-intentioned while also being believably controversial. Totally naive to their controversy, no doubt. But still... believably controversial.

This is where their initial dance was so important. Working with Marcela Donato (my amazing choreographer), we set out to make an almost birds of paradise introductive-dance… something that felt unquestionably naive and innocent but also inclusive and good-spirited: both silly and serious… masculine and feminine… and not at all professional or self-conscious. In this way, it’s not only a unique dance (and fun to watch) but it’s also the ultimate ice-breaker. Like, “No matter your dance-skill level or who you are or what you believe in… you’re loved and accepted and if you want, take this sticker that I’m shaking centimeters away from my butt.”

This end dance move (with the sticker dangling from a precarious position) is meant to not just be bizarre (and maybe smile-inducing… maybe?) but it’s also meant to offer a relatable explanation for why some people (head thug included) might be against such a joyous movement. 

What challenges did you encounter in transforming a simple, spontaneous gesture into an engaging story for a music video?

To add onto the previous answer, making things believable (no matter how silly) and finding little details that feel relatable, that’s the challenge… but it’s also the fun! 

For example, hinting that the old lady is in fact the head thug’s grandma makes the film that much more relatable - because who can’t relate to wanting to protect their grandma? Or when we see our head thug fail to remove a “muy bien” sticker stuck to a man’s forehead (even trying to warm it up with hot breath), these are little details (whether it be in backstory, performance, art direction, etc.) that help make the world feel more unexpectedly real… which makes it funnier and more engaging… because it’s surprisingly relatable. It’s a cycle.

What was it like collaborating with the artist Xinobi, and how did his music influence the creative direction of the project?

“Strides” has such a great underlying beat and also a touch of sentimentality — and even tension and suspense — and those elements in the music really shaped the tone of the film and helped guide the choreography and storytelling. Those twenty piano notes, happening once in the beginning and once at the end, not only influenced the movements - with purposefully awkward long pauses in between, but they also offered a perfect narrative structure - demonstrating our grandma accept the joy, and seeing the mob ultimately reject it.

And as for Xinobi, he’s honestly the most generous, creative, trusting, collaborative artist/person - and when he was able to finally get involved, he was incredibly supportive and trusting and even came out to set with his family - appearing in a cameo.

But Xinobi wasn’t involved too much in the early production process – not by his choosing. He didn’t know we were even producing a film until two days before the first shoot day. No joke. 

We had started planning the video with “Strides” in mind shortly after realizing we were going to be in Lisbon for a month making a commercial. Without ever getting in touch with Xinobi, we scheduled to fly in the real “muy bien” Berlin gang, casted a ton of Lisbon locals, locked-in locations, choregraphed very specific dance moves… and yes, still had no confirmation we could even use the track. Not the smartest idea.

But luckily, two days before our shoot, my brother Adam, who’s also my producer and creative collaborator and overall go-to-everything, was having dinner with a producer friend of his in Lisbon. Adam told him about what we were trying to do and how we were kind of at a loss trying to get in touch with Xinobi, and the producer said he actually knew Xinobi and texted him right then and there. The next day Xinobi met with us, read the pitch, and (my memory could be totally mistaken) but I’m almost positive Xinobi put down the treatment and said… “Muy bien.”