Ferkesh: Ilaria & Vanessa Makhoul | Ilaria - ‘Sama’

For independent artists, ambitious music video concepts often fall through the cracks, stifled by the harsh reality of tight or nonexistent budgets. But for the Italian-Lebanese artists Ilaria and Vanessa Makhoul, financial limitations were an invitation to innovate. With Ilaria’s latest single, ‘SAMA’, the two sisters set out to prove that visual storytelling doesn't require a massive budget to be rich and compelling.

In our latest episode of Ferkesh, Ilaria and Vanessa pull back the curtain on their creative blueprint, breaking down a shoot captured against the raw, cinematic architecture of Sofia's Lyulin district in Bulgaria. Grounded in the internal and external tensions of human emotion, the video leans heavily into a gritty Eastern European aesthetic and the slow-burning symbolism of legendary filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky. From the divine order hidden in a frozen clock to the harmonious coexistence of masculinity and femininity, the project stands as a testament to creative freedom, proving that the most profound art is born when we stop trying to define the world and simply allow it to reveal itself.

Watch the full interview below: