Video for Song by The Vindys Selected by Tribeca Film Fest
NEW YORK – Youngstown rock band The Vindys will make its presence known at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival.
The band’s video for “Bugs” – the title track from its 2021 album – has been selected for screening at the prestigious film fest, which takes place in New York in June.
The video is one of eight selected for the festival’s Shorts: Bats**t Crazy lineup. It is in good company – videos from Lizzo and The Black Keys are also among the selections.
The video was directed by Peter-John Campbell of Claymore Pictures in Canton and mixed by Ryan West (Rihanna, Eminem, Jay-Z).
The song “Bugs,” written by Vindys singer Jackie Popovec, employs a hypnotic bass beat that plays throughout the four-minute video.
Popovec stars in the video, portraying a woman who is kept awake by her thoughts. Shooting took place at a private home in Canfield, Ohio.
Popovec said the song was inspired by a real experience she had – discovering that thousands of yellow jackets were behind the walls and ceiling of her bedroom.
In the dream-within-a-dream video, Popovec falls asleep and dreams that insects – played by her bandmates – are tormenting her. At the end, she wakes up and realizes it was just a dream.
Popovec said she is “shocked and in awe” at the Tribeca honor and said she will definitely attend the premiere in New York.
The singer and her bandmates, John Anthony and Rick Deak, were impressed when they first saw the video, which was released in November. “Everything about it screamed cinematic and creative, and we could not be more honored … to be acknowledged by the Tribeca Film community,” Popovec said.
Tribeca takes place June 7-18 in New York; for tickets and information, go to tribecafilm.com/festival. Tickets go on sale May 2.
The video will be screened at two New York venues: June 9 at 8:15 p.m. at the Angelika; and June 14 and 17 at AMC 19th St. East 6 at 9:15 p.m.
To view the video, click HERE:
The Tribeca selection is the second national recognition the band has received in recent weeks. The first was ESPN’s selection of The Vindys’ song “Are You Ready” for use in its commercials for softball coverage. The song had previously been picked up by the Pittsburgh Pirates and Pittsburgh Penguins for use in telecasts.
The “Bugs” video was created in a collaborative manner.
“I had this vision for a storyline, but it only came together at the last minute,” Popovec said.
It was shot in one 16-hour session. Adjustments to the roles Popovec plays in the dream sequence – which include a diner waitress and a cowboy – were tweaked during shooting.
“It came together in the moment based on the feeling of what was right,” she said.
Costumes for the shoot were borrowed from the Kent State University theater department.
Campbell, the Canton-based filmmaker who shot the video, also said he was surprised when he first learned it was selected by Tribeca. The video will not be eligible for an award but is part of the festival’s recognition of short film.
“I’m stunned and shocked,” Campbell said. “This is a big honor. I’ve been in some respectable film festivals before, but Tribeca is a whole other level, and the highest [recognition] I’ve ever received.”
As a filmmaker, it fell to Campbell to submit the video to the festival. He has been invited to either give a director’s talk or lead a question-and-answer session at the premiere.
Campbell said the shooting session started at 7 a.m., and he didn’t leave the location until well after midnight.
“I told Jackie before we started, ‘By the time we get to the final scene, you are going to hate me,’ and she said, ‘No, I won’t – you’re too nice,’” Campbell said with a laugh. “But when we finally shot the final scene, which was at like 1 a.m., she said, ‘You were right!’”
Pictured at top: The Vindys are Rick Deak, Jackie Popovec and John Anthony.
Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
