Charli XCX has directed a new music video for "Camera," featuring French actor Vincent Cassel, ahead of her forthcoming project Music, Fashion, Film dropping this Friday.
The collaboration marks another creative venture for the British pop experimentalist, who has increasingly taken control of her visual output alongside her sonic innovations. Cassel, known for roles in films like "Black Swan" and the "Oceans" franchise, brings his cinematic presence to the video, which presumably explores themes that align with the album's title focus on visual culture and performance.
Charli XCX has established herself as a visionary director in recent years, crafting videos that match the conceptual ambition of her music. Her approach to directing mirrors her approach to production and songwriting—collaborative yet distinctly controlled, always pushing toward the avant-garde. The pairing with Cassel suggests she's interested in blurring boundaries between music video conventions and legitimate cinema, a thread that has run through her career since her early work with SOPHIE and other experimental producers.
Music, Fashion, Film arrives as Charli's latest statement following the commercial and critical success of Crash in 2022. The project continues her evolution from underground hyperpop maven to mainstream artist who refuses to soften her edges. Her willingness to direct her own videos reflects a broader shift in how pop artists maintain creative autonomy in an era where visual content rivals audio in importance.
The "Camera" video represents yet another data point in Charli XCX's larger project of cultural commentary through pop music. Whether discussing surveillance, perception, or the male gaze through the lens of Hollywood's most recognizable international actors, the video should provide a window into the album's thematic concerns. Charli continues to operate at the intersection of music and visual art, territories where few mainstream pop artists dare to tread with such consistency.