John Merizalde takes the 17 year old indie prodigy Declan McKenna's Bethlehem and builds a story of blossoming love between two teenagers in a small American town where bigotry and religious zealotry hangs like a shadow over them.

Shot on 16mm, Merizalde, who hails from Georgia, sketches a world of believable characters, and captures the claustrophobia of the place, with a lightness of touch that's perfectly pitched to the song.
 

JOHN MARIZALDE:

"When I first listened to the track, I was reminded of a small rural town in Georgia called Bethlehem, about an hour away from where I grew up. That, coupled with the themes behind the track - basically a critique against religiously-motivated violence and hate - were the initial catalyst for the idea.

"From there the story flowed naturally, inspired by images, people, and places that I'd seen growing up, or wanted to see. Despite some of the darker themes, we aimed to do something a little fun and different with this. The use of 16mm film and slow zooms were incorporated to hopefully give it a more old-school feel.

"And no, I never attended a snake church growing up... Although I do know some people that did."