Stromae Makes Directorial Debut w/ Yael Naim's 'Coward' Video

The video tells the story of an old woman, a former superhero now retired. Our heroine is in denial of her aging, not completely accepting of the physical changes that are happening to her.... To what extent her relentlessness can be seen as courage? Is it not simply the fear of the future?

When Belgian singer-songwriter Paul Van Haver, aka Stromae, first heard Yael Naim's signature song "Coward" he was moved to tears. Upon learning this, Naim invited him to collaborate on a video for the track. A year later the plan finally came together, Van Haver, driven by his label Mosaert's mission to foster creativity across disciplines, signed on to direct.

Rounding out the core team, Naim and Van Haver enlisted Wes Anderson collaborator Martin Scali (Grand Budapest Hotel, Fantastic Mr Fox), Mosaert artistic director Luc Junior Tam and stylist Coralie Barbier.

Rounding out the core team, Naim and Van Haver enlisted Wes Anderson collaborator Martin Scali (Grand Budapest Hotel, Fantastic Mr Fox), Mosaert artistic director Luc Junior Tamand stylist Coralie Barbier. The resulting video is now available to be shared wide.

The video tells the story of an old woman, a former superhero now retired, our heroine is in denial of her condition's decline, not accepting the physical changes of growing old. Choosing a superhero as principal character addresses the antithesis of cowardliness, as main topic, in order to highlight it, because by definition a superhero is never a coward. Moreover, it also permitted to stick to Yael Naim's writing that evokes motherhood, but more generally, the feeling of cowardliness that we can all experience when we're confronted with serious steps in our lives. The clip questions the thin subjective border that separates courage from cowardliness and vice versa. To what extent her relentlessness can be seen as courage? Is it not simply the fear of the future?

The centerpiece of her newest LP Older (out now) "Coward," is a ruminant cabaret tune about the loss of control and freedom. In addition to the official video, Naim recently revealed a live version of the track (performed with hundreds of fans) in Paris, France: watch the "Coward" flashmob video here

And make sure to catch Naim in Philadelphia (12/6 @ World Cafe Live) and New York City (12/8 @ Highline Ballroom).

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