An Innocent Man
What is the film about?
The music video is set in a typical small town in the Southern states of America, during the Great Depression of the 1930’s. The story centres on a young girl and her brother, who are raised by their widowed father. The father is a well-known and respected lawyer with his own legal practice in the town. His even-handed and humanitarian approach to life along with a strong moral compass, has also been instilled in his children from a very early age. always leading by example. One of the town’s black resident is falsely accused of raping a young white woman – The Father agrees to defend him despite receiving threats from the local townsfolk.
Despite presenting a credible defence of the accused, he is unjustly convicted. In the video, the convict hangs himself in his cell, which differs from the book where he is killed whilst trying to escape.
Just before you witness the body of the convict swinging in his cell, a Mockingbird briefly lands on the window ledge and then flies off. The children’s father had previously told them that it is “a sin to kill a mockingbird,” suggesting that the bird is innocent and harmless.
What influenced it?
When I was first approached by Mark and Jova I was attracted to the project immediately because of the vocals. Upon listening to ‘An Innocent Man’, I was immediately struck by the sensitivity and innocence in Jova’s vocals and the childlike manner in which the song is approached, musically and lyrically. It really drew me in and conjured up imagery pretty much from the first bar. I usually know within 20 seconds of listening to a track whether or not it is something I would like to take on as a music video. There was no question with this one. It was a wonderful project to work on and I am very proud of the final piece.
Jess Cope – Director