"I’m activated by ideas around tension, reclamation, power, and the subconscious. I create based of feeling. I think our feelings and sensations are the most powerful force in the world." — C Prinz
C Prinz, a visual artist and filmmaker, has quickly become a household name across the creative industry. A multidisciplinary artist, she's already paving the way this year as Creative Director and Choreographer at the GRAMMYs 2025. However, last year saw the release of one of her most important projects to date: God is Good with Jeremy Pope. Now acquired by Criterion Channel, we spoke to C about the project and her perception of the world as a filmmaker; how movement and rhythm guides her directing approach, paired with the unyielding power of human emotion and intuition. Told through the lens of the human body, C's vision is visceral, defiant and in constant evolution.
Tell us a bit more about God is Good.
"Watching it is like seeing a person go through the panic, the pain and the overwhelming sensory overload of confronting their own sense of self, confronting all the things that make them who they are. From the opening shot the viewer is immersed inside Pope’s mind as he reckons with the tension of right and wrong, good and evil–his sensitive, feminine inner world on trial against his hyper masculine upbringing and world at large.
I started looking at patterns of order and chaos and how they exist side by side, with grace. With ease. This was the beginning of finding my role in the story: an ally of the free fall, of letting go, of listening. To simply be a vessel. This film was built upon years of layered conversations about our most complex experiences. We spoke a lot about our visceral memories of anxiety attacks—sometimes beautiful, others devastating, and every so often... absolutely ludicrous—and this is ultimately what informed the structure of the film.
Anxiety is lawless. Sporadic in pace. Shapeshifting in its beauty. Fearless in the face of exhaustion. Relentlessness. Sensation has always been generous to me so this is where we began."
What do you look up to for inspiration outside of film?
"I look for moments in life full of visceral emotionality. I look for circumstances of desperation, anger, poise, purity, love, rage and clarity amidst life’s calm and chaos. Music is a huge part of finding these feelings as well, or containing and understanding and recreating them. I try to wield these captivating forces in my filmmaking and bear an unmistakable mark of artistry. I like to take bold creative swings, fully committing, without compromise."
At the intersection between counter culture and the mainstream, C's influence on the music industry is defiant, bold, and resilient. Confident and un-contained, her music video for Doechii, Crazy, was banned from the YouTube trending page. Last year she was also the Charlix XCX's Movement and Camera Director, defining the visual culture which dominated last summer.
C's journey into direction began alongside her career as a professional dancer. Making surrealist short films on the side, she soon shifted her focus to directing, where she leaned heavily on making music videos for friends to discover her directorial voice. "A timeless process," C adds, "I still don't know if I've found it. I am always losing it, which I am infatuated with." With her background, choreography has always played a significant role in her relationship with filmmaking.
How does movement and choreography influence your directing? How do you differentiate your approach as a movement director from directing?
"I don’t think they’re so different actually. When in pursuit of excellence, I think to be a choreographer is to be a director and to be a director is to be a choreographer. Moreso, I see myself as a vessel and a sculptor. Creating rhythm out of silence is something I’m really intrigued by; building structure out of the invisible or whatever an actor or dancer might give me. I try to find the rhythm of those things and build it like a score, even in film. I prep very intensely so that I can play jazz on set. My instinctual connection to space, sensation and emotion – alongside an intuitive, feeling-based approach to filmmaking rather than studying techniques and theories – has profoundly influenced my multi-disciplinary approach."
With an effortless ability to integrate VFX and unreal elements into her commercial work, C Prinz has collaborated with some of the most celebrated brands in the world, including a new—land collaboration for Coachtopia's latest film with Lola Tung at the end of last year. She also directed "Dream Together" for On, starring Zendaya, alongside collaborations with Nike, Yves Saint Laurent and Hennessy.
See more from C Prinz here.
