Elina Filice – «Thinking of You»

Photo credit : Elina Filice & Ally Cantalini

Singer-songwriter Elina Filice has released a music video for her most successful single yet, «Thinking of You»,

The video features several distinct locations in Toronto as well as vibrant colours, quick cuts, and creative camera work by Toronto-based filmmaker Phil Kim. The video is co-starred by Ally Cantalini.

The video follows Elina on an adventure from Kensington Market, to the Island Ferry, to Toronto Island, and then finally back home to the bedroom. She says, «The song discusses themes of movement, travel, and adventure, so I wanted to capture that by shooting different scenes across the city».

She goes on to say, «The song is verbose, rambling, and nostalgic, with thoughts and memories swirling and haunting. I wanted to capture that with the scenes cutting forward and back in time. I want viewers to wonder if the scenes with Ally are happening in real time or if they’re memories and flashbacks, and the journey is really happening alone».

Elina says, «The video is pretty gay. It’s a little nerve-wracking to be this gay on camera, but… this is my life, this is my friends’ lives. Queer visibility is important, and as a creator, honest content like this is my way of fighting to normalise queerness and queer love. I think it’s important to recognise that feeling safe enough to be openly out, let alone shooting a music video like this, isn’t possible for a lot of queer people around the world».

She goes on to say, «Queerness, especially between women, is usually blatantly oversexuallised, so I wanted the scenes between myself and Ally to be intimate and loving, and not at all sexual. There’s enough of that on the internet».

«Thinking of You» has over 240k streams on Spotify, and enjoyed news coverage from dozens of outlets following its release including Earmilk, Hot Press, For The Love Of Bands, and The Last Mixed Tape. The song has spent over three months on Spotify Editorial Playlist, «Butter».

With funky guitar licks, an infectious beat, and a stuck-in-your-head chorus, «Thinking of You» is a genre-defying track that melds pop and funk influences with modern hip-hop sounds, while still full of Elina’s signature thoughtful lyrics, catchy hooks, and strong storytelling.