Here’s how rising Fil-Am filmmaker elevates Quinn Bentley’s ‘Stripes’ music video

PHOTOS: Satya Sullivan

Filipino talent shines brightly across a myriad of domains, from sports and beauty pageants to music and beyond. Whether it’s the innate competitiveness ingrained within us or the unwavering sense of “Filipino pride,” one cannot deny the global recognition Filipinos consistently garner.

In the world of filmmaking, Filipino American filmmaker Matthew Libatique recently secured his third nomination for Best Cinematography at the 96th Academy Awards.

Emerging on the scene is Satya Sullivan, a Filipina cinematographer now based in Rhode Island, USA. Her recent work on Quinn Bentley’s “Stripes” music video has already clinched multiple nominations from the film festival circuit both within and outside the US.

Born and raised in Manila, Sullivan moved to the US to further cultivate her filmmaking career. Inspired by luminaries like Rina Yang, the Fil-Am cinematographer incorporates elements from Yang’s previous works in “Euphoria” and her other music videos, admiring her mastery of lighting to enrich storytelling.

“I absolutely adore and would hope to one day meet and be mentored by Rina Yang,” Sullivan told  Inquirer.net USA in an exclusive interview. “I draw from her work a lot.”

Regarding the music video, which clinched the Best Cinematography award at the 2024 Prague Music Video Awards and emerged as a finalist at the 2023 Canadian Cinematography Awards, “Stripes” delves into the concept of intrusive thoughts serving as one’s inner demons.

Infusing the song’s premise and the concept of the film from Director Sarah Menasce and the artist Bentley herself, Sullivan brought the element of dynamic lighting to her work.

“Each scene in itself is its own character, and they dictate the main character’s inner world,” she further discusses. “The different scenes are lit to reflect her different moods at the time.”

Sullivan delves deeper into the lighting techniques, stating, “The bathroom scene where she is rushing to put her makeup on is lit that way to make it feel uneasy. The scene in the convenience store is lit to make it feel very grungy, she’s not making stops to use the bathroom at a Shell or at a Cumbies [Cumberland Farms].”

When asked to distill the main message of the video, she reflects on its exploration of the negative coping mechanisms prevalent among adolescents facing difficult emotions. It’s a commentary on the lack of effective tools available to navigate through pain, loss or trauma.

Throughout the film, the artist of “Stripes” becomes ensnared in a cycle of numbing and self-destruction, culminating in her downfall.

“I hope that this could serve as a reminder to people that you can’t just party or distract your way out of pain. Obviously that’s not a blanket statement for all situations. I’d say ‘Stripes’ is a modern and Euphoria-esque/Skins-esque cautionary tale,” she adds.

Looking forward, Sullivan aspires to evolve further as a cinematographer, embracing opportunities to collaborate and push boundaries. For her, growth thrives beyond comfort zones, propelling her towards new horizons in her craft, “because that’s where the growth happens.”