The Roosens Tell the Tale of Heartbreak for The Howl and The Hum Music Video

Set in present-day Antwerp, Belgium, ‘Hostages’ is a break-up story for our times. It marks the end of a relationship, where an ex-couple share the awkward ritual of meeting to return the other’s possessions, and face the memories and attachment to objects this can cause.

The promo was shot in the current lockdown, forcing unique creative challenges. The Roosens explain the concept and execution of the video: “We knew while writing the treatment that cast and crew would have to keep a distance due to the coronavirus, that’s why the break-up takes place in current times, so the actors could keep distance. We didn't view this as a restriction but as an advantage. The ex-couple wants to end their relationship and are looking for a way where both parties can do so amicably. The record is the thing that bounds them without a physical touch.

We wanted to translate the corona restriction within the visual language of the film. That’s why we always have a lot of ‘wall’ in the frame. Also, we never show the couple together in the same frame. The wall, the coronavirus, is literally between them.

What we are missing in current times is some physicality, that’s why our shots of the hands are so important for the story. At the climax, we see a long shot of the hands. These hands aim to translate the feelings between our characters.

On set, we couldn’t actually capture the shot on the 'touching' hands with the two actors and maintain social distancing, because they weren’t in the same 'bubble'. To get around this, the scene is shot with our male actor and his real-life girlfriend, who is part of his 'bubble'.”