“Though it looks like I’m screaming my head off, I had to stay nearly silent the entire time because we couldn’t draw attention to ourselves and risk people coming into the tunnel while we were shooting,” says Carré Kwong Callaway — aka Queen Kwong about her provocative new video “I Know Who You Are.” “This was a super-fast shoot but it was probably the most challenging video I’ve ever done.  There were only three of us — Joe Cardamone [of The Icarus Line] directing, Jacob Mendel filming, and me, and we only had one take to do the main tunnel scene because I could only break everything I had in my hands once.”  

Modeled after the iconic subway scene from Andrzej Żuławski’s classic 1981 horror film Possession, Callaway drew inspiration from actress Isabelle Adjani’s shocking performance of a woman who suffers from a demonic attack in a subway tunnel.  Calloway adds, “You can see a part when I accidentally hit my head against the wall and that combined with the bag being so heavy with a gallon of liquid made me nearly fall over every time I swung it around, so that also helped add to the authenticity.” While visually in line with the film, the theme behind the song as well connects with the source material. “The movie is largely an allegory for divorce; hence, Joe suggested the concept for the video a while back because the movie and my record share some thematic commonalities,” she says.  

The one condition Callaway had was that the video ends differently than the movie. “Possession was written from a male’s perspective and the last thing I wanted to do was portray yet another ‘crazy bitch’ who’s to blame for everything falling apart.  That’s the opposite of what my record is about.”  While the film observes Adjani’s character spiral downward, Callaway and Cardamone swapped out the tragic ending with one of hope instead as her character emerges from the other end of the tunnel.  “Ultimately, relief and freedom are on the other side,” she adds.

Callaway’s upcoming album Couples Only (Sonic Ritual; release date: July 12, 2022) from which the song is taken, captures every emotion from shock to grief and ultimately triumph that came not only from Callaway’s divorce but also from the diagnosis of cystic fibrosis that presented her with no more than a decade left to live. It’s a fearless account of facing the worst betrayals and accepting the deepest losses.  But, ultimately, it’s a testament to the endurance of the human spirit. 

Photo Courtesy: Laura-Mary Carter