Bret Easton Ellis Directs Exclusive Short Film for Saint Laurent

American novelist/screenwriter Bret Easton Ellis is the latest artist to be tapped by French luxury house Saint Laurent for its Self project initiated by Anthony Vaccarello.

Taking on the form of an exclusive short film, “The Arrangement” is Ellis’ take on the Parisian fashion house’s spirit, following in the footsteps of photographer Daido Muramayama and performance artist Vanessa Beecroft before him. Also enlisting the help of Kiss & Kill, the just over three-and-a-half-minute film stars Hopper Penn (son of Sean Penn) and models Tes Linnenkoper and Dakota Lindvall, who find themselves stuck in a love triangle.

Shot on a spacious property, the clip is injected with elegant Saint Laurent stylings by Anthony Vaccarello, such as the label’s signature polka dot shirts, leather jackets, and leopard-print evening wear, and features the soundtrack of Petula Clark’s “Windmills of Your Mind.”

The Ellis-directed “The Arrangement” will make an appearance at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival taking place in New York from April 24 to May 5.

On the project Ellis stated:

“The lyric kept repeating itself to me as I began shooting this short film for YSL, about jealousy and romantic obsession, the windmills of your mind being the things you project onto a neutral reality when you are trapped within the throes of desire, infatuation can often make the tactile world seem fictional, a fantasy, because it leads us down unexpected paths that don’t conform–that disrupt–our daily reality, and this feeling can be even more intense when you’re young, and so much of the world hasn’t revealed itself to you yet–its starkness, its pragmatism. A utopia is still a possibility, and the purity of love is still an option. And I liked exploring this idea by juxtaposing the elegance of the characters world with the turmoil and dreamy confusion they are experiencing. I also wanted the film to have an LA feel, situated in a place where fantasy and reality often collide within the confines of the entertainment industry. But I was also initially drawing my inspiration from Yves and his second home in Morocco, and giving it a contemporary feel.”

For more on the novelist catch up on our feature, “Bret Easton Ellis Loves Taylor Swift.”