To accompany the release of their debut album The Record, indie supergroup Boygenius premiered a short film, simply titled The Film, which was released online on 31 March 2023. The Film offers the band’s fans, garnered largely through Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker’s three successful solo careers, a deeper dive into what director Kristen Stewart described at the film’s premiere as the band’s “shared consciousness”.
Kristen Stewart’s most well-known film credits to date consist of acting roles in teenage vampire romance Twilight, and the impressive and varied acting career that followed. However, she has also found her feet directing, with two music videos for small Nashville band Sage and the Saints and Chvrches, plus 2017 short film Come Swim which screened at Cannes and Sundance.
Sitting somewhere between the worlds of music video and cinema, Boygenius’ 14-minute The Film consists of three parts accompanying the singles released in January; ‘20$’, ‘Emily I’m Sorry’ and ‘True Blue’. Each song is centred around one of the three band members in a turbulent place, but they do not exist in isolation from one another. Recurring dramatic imagery helps strengthen the relationship between the three scenes; fire starting in ‘20$’, Phoebe’s commanding stare down the camera lens in ‘Emily I’m Sorry’ and the all-encompassing blue paint in ‘True Blue’.
Although each scene begins with one of the band members alone, there is joy, power and comfort in the way they always find themselves reunited at each story’s conclusion. Whether that be through pacts of blood, the lighting of a match or the intimate kissing scenes at the conclusion of ‘True Blue’—just one of many moments sure to send shockwaves through the band’s largely queer fan base.
In recent years, artists such as The National, Arcade Fire and Taylor Swift have pushed the boundaries of the standard music video format, and chosen to employ film to open up the world of their music further, and in turn, pull their fans in closer. Boygenius, as a group or as solo artists, are often branded as ‘sad girl’ music. However, sadness is just one note in Boygenius’ repertoire. At the films’ close, with the three members cuddling peacefully in one bed, we’re shown that where there’s pain, there’s healing too.
Words by Lena Moss