Angel Olsen and Kimberly Stuckwisch have announced a new film accompanying the release of the singer-songwriter’s upcoming album Big Time. Presented by and in partnership with Amazon Music, the 28-minute film, also titled Big Time, will premiere June 2 at 2:30am BST via Amazon Music’s Twitch Channel and the Amazon Music App, with additional screenings taking place in London and Los Angeles. A new trailer for the film features the unreleased songs ‘Chasing the Sun’ and ‘Through the Fires’. Check it out below.
Stuckwisch previously worked on the video for Olsen and Sharon Van Etten’s ‘Like I Used To’ and went on to direct Olivia Rodrigo’s Sour Prom concert film. Enlisting Ellis Bahl as a writing and editing collaborator, Stuckwisch and Olsen shot the movie over seven days in late January.
Speaking about the inspiration behind the film, Olsen said in a press release:
At the time of my mothers passing I kept having these super visual dreams about time travel. Later on I decided I’d name the record Big Time, not only because of the song but also as a kind of wink to time expansion and change. When I approached Kimberly Stuckwisch about making these videos, I thought it would be cool to include the storyline of one of the dreams I’d had, and really use it as a way to tell the story of the songs. She added dialogue and events, some that are based in reality and others that haven’t happened, to create a story arc around my dream, to give it a thicker plot, using the music videos within and creating a larger film. I’ve always had a vivid imagination and it was really special to make these subconscious moments real, but it was also a really emotional and raw process and felt almost at times like a spiritual clearing, that by putting myself in the story and moving pieces of it around, I also personally had to re-examine my losses and find a new way to process the events that actually took place in my life. Though most of it is scripted, it is probably the most intimate work I have ever made and shared with the public.. and it serves as an homage to my mother. I only wish my mom was here to listen to the record, because something tells me that she would have really liked this one.
Stuckwisch added:
Big Time is the story of light versus shadow told through a non-linear surrealist dreamspace that poses one central dilemma. ‘What lengths must one go through to let go of the past in order to step out of the darkness and accept one’s true self?’
It’s a story that targets deep rooted complexities such as how our unconscious deals with repressed sexual identity, the hardships of letting go of our past selves in order to step into self actualization, and the guilt we hold when dealing with loss. For one reason or another, we all have parts of ourselves that we struggle to forgive as well as a part of ourselves we are afraid of exploring or that we think society won’t like—so we push those parts down into our unconscious psyches, into the shadows. This is the story of drowning in those fears before releasing your light.
Big Time arrives on June 3 via Jagjaguwar. The film incorporates the music videos for the singles ‘All The Good Times’ and ‘Big Time’, which Olsen has already shared.
