shots Unsigned: Anita Goß

ANIQO is the musical project of Berlin and Lisbon-based singersongwriter and audiovisual artist Anita Goß. 

Her work moves between dark art pop, spiritual folk and cinematic songwriting, with music and film closely connected in her practice. Her songs explore transformation, devotion, longing and the power of letting go.

Here we take the chance to speak to Goß about her latest music video Time to Heal, and her creative process.

Can you tell us a little about your background and your route into directing?

I studied Cultural Studies and Aesthetic Practice, with a practical focus on film. That was where I first came into contact with screenwriting and developed the concept for a documentary film. It was only much later, when I decided to pursue music professionally, that I realised how deeply the visual side is connected to my music. 

With some of my earlier music videos, such as Chess and Must Surrender, I was already involved in developing the concepts, editing and, partly, directing. I have always had very clear images and visual worlds in my head. I would say that filmmaking and making music trigger a similar kind of nerdiness in me - this urge to go very deeply into something, to work on every little detail and create a complete world around an idea.

I would say that filmmaking and making music trigger a similar kind of nerdiness in me.

Did you study filmmaking? How did you learn your craft?

As mentioned above, film was a major part of my studies, although my real passion for filmmaking developed much later. I think I have a natural ability to find ways of making the things I imagine actually happen - or perhaps simply the determination to go into action once an image becomes clear in my mind. It was the same with the film before Time to Heal, and The Turn. 

I knew that I had to get onto a sailing boat to visualise the feeling of the song. Once that idea was there, the question was no longer whether to do it, but how to make it possible. In terms of the actual craft, I am still learning all the time. I have become quite experienced with editing, while colour grading is relatively new territory for me. I have been directing for a while, but never on the scale of Time to Heal. 

At certain moments we had around ten people on set, which requires a completely different level of organisation, communication and focus.It worked, and it also made me realise how much more there still is to learn - which is something I really look forward to.

Would you say you have a directing style? How did you arrive at it? 

I’m not sure I would call it a completely defined directing style yet, but there are certainly things I keep returning to. I’m very drawn to atmosphere, symbolism and images that feel slightly outside ordinary reality. Most of my ideas begin quite intuitively, often directly from the music. I tend to see images, movements or fragments of a world before I have a fully formed narrative. From there, I build a visual language around the emotional core of the song. 

I also like leaving space for things to happen while filming. Even when there is a script or a clear concept, I don’t want everything to feel overly controlled. Nature, light, movement and the people involved can suddenly change the direction of a scene, and I really value those moments. Because I also edit my own films, directing and editing are very connected for me. 

While shooting, I am often already thinking about rhythm, transitions and contrasts. So perhaps my style has developed less from consciously choosing an aesthetic and more from following the way I naturally experience music, emotion and images.

While shooting, I am often already thinking about rhythm, transitions and contrasts.

What was the inspiration behind your latest music video? 

I have been living in Portugal, in the Sintra region, for about a year now, and the landscape here has been an incredible source of inspiration. You can see that very clearly in the film. The forests, rocks and landscapes around Sintra can feel both fairytale-like and mysterious. 

Time to Heal is, for me, a song about one of the most beautiful feelings there is: falling in love. It is about euphoria, trust, intimacy and deep connection - but also about being connected to your own body, to the ground beneath you and, in a wider sense, to Mother Earth. From the very beginning of writing the song, I had the feeling that I wanted to enter some kind of fairytale world visually as well. 

Alice in Wonderland, Tim Burton and the Grimm fairy tales were among the references floating around in my mind. I was also inspired by the day itself and by my friends, who helped me bring the film together and who also appear in it. I feel such a strong connection to them and so much love for them, which is why the film is dedicated to them.

Above: A selection of stills from the music video Time To Heal.

What other directors' work do you admire, and why? 

I am very drawn to the visual languages of Paolo Sorrentino, Tim Burton, David Lynch, Andrei Tarkovsky and Akira Kurosawa. Their films have the ability to pull me into another world. What fascinates me is the way they can take something that belongs to the reality we know and shift the perspective until it suddenly becomes mysterious, absurd, spiritual or incredibly beautiful.

Our experience of reality is always filtered through our own perception. Cinema can disrupt that for a moment. 

Our experience of reality is always filtered through our own perception. Cinema can disrupt that for a moment. It can show us that the world might be perceived completely differently if we manage to step outside our usual point of view. All of these directors seem to have their own very particular way of looking at the world, and that is something I admire enormously. In that sense, the name of the art collective I am part of feels very fitting: La Double Vie.

Where do you find the motivation for your projects? 

I actually don’t know where it comes from. Once I am really on fire for something, it becomes very difficult for me to stop before I feel that the work is finished - whether it is a song or a film connected to it. 

I can spend an enormous amount of time on very small details. I keep working until something inside me says that it is complete. 

I can’t really explain what that drive is or where it comes from. It is simply there.

What were some of the difficulties you faced in pulling this project together? 

Time was definitely the biggest challenge. The shooting time was very limited considering the number of scenes I had written into the script. Afterwards, I also had only around three weeks to finish the edit and the colour grading. 

At the same time, I am currently preparing the release of an album, so a lot of creative and organisational processes were happening in parallel. It was clear that Time to Heal had to be finished by mid-August, and the schedule became extremely tight. But somehow it all came together.